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THE BI-CENTENNIAL BOOK
Old First Presbyterian Church
in the
City of New York
TKE NEW VuRK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS-
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THE SERVICES
r in celebration of the
Two Hundredth Anniversary
^^
of the founding of the
Id First Presbyterian Church
in the
City of New York
In the Church
FIFTH AVENUE, ELEVENTH to TWELFTH STREETS
December 1916
> > > >
THE riEW YORK |
PUBLIC library!
ATTOR LENOX AND
TiLDEN foundations;
Ti !9!8 L
^
LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN AND OUR
FATHERS THAT BEGAT US.
THE LORD HATH WROUGHT GREAT GLORY BY
THEM THROUGH HIS GREAT POWER FROM
THE BEGINNING.
LEADERS OF THE PEOPLE BY THEIR COUNSELS
AND BY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF LEARNING
MEET FOR THE PEOPLE, WISE AND ELOQUENT IN
THEIR INSTRUCTIONS.
THERE BE OF THEM, THAT HAVE LEFT A
NAME BEHIND THEfyf, THAT THEIR PRAISES
MIGHT BE REPORTED.
AND SOME
MORIAL;
ND SOME THERE BE, WHICH HAVE NO ME-
WHO ARE PERISHED AS THOUGH
THEY HAD NEVER BEEN.
B
TEN.
UT THESE WERE MERCIFUL MEN WHOSE
RIGHTEOUSNESS HATH NOT BEEN FORGOT-
THEIR SEED STANDETH FAST, AND THEIR
CHILDREN FOR THEIR SAKES.
^
THE FOUNDERS
"The small body of Presbyterians kept
together and continued, with few interrup-
tions, and with a gradual increase of their
number, to meet for worship, without a
minister until the year 1716, when
JOHN NICOLL, PATRICK McKNIGHT,
GILBERT LIVINGSTONE,
THOMAS SMITH
and a few others conceived the plan of
forming themselves into a regular Presbyter-
ian Church and calling a stated pastor."
MEMOIRS OF REV. JOHN RODGERS, D.D.
By SAMUEL MILLER, D.D.
THE PASTORS
1717 James Anderson 1726
1727 Ebenezer Pemberton 1753
1750 Alexander Gumming 1753
1756 David Bostwick 1763
1762 Joseph Treat 1776
1765 John Rodgers 1811
1785 James Wilson 1788
1789 John McKnight 1809
1793 Samuel Miller 1813
1805 Philip Milledoler 1805
1815 Philip Melancthon Whelpley 1824
1826 William Wirt Phillips 1865
1866 William Miller Paxton 1883
1886 Richard Davenport Harlan 1890
1891 Howard Duffield
THE RULING ELDERS
1784 John Broome 1810
1790 Daniel Phoenix 1812
1800 John Keese 1809
1800 John R. B. Rodgers 1833
1809 David Gelston 1828
1809 Robert Lenox 1839
1809 Robert McGill 1831
1809 Peter Ludlow 1828
1809 David L. Dodge 1819
1812 John P. Mumford 1820
1820 James Anderson 1831
1820 Alexander Nichols 1828
1825 Daniel Boardman 1833
1825 William Sterling 1843
1833 James Patton 1846
1833 James Lenox 1880
1833 Aaron R. Thompson 1880
1846 John V. Talmage 1852
1846 Milton St. John 1859
1846 Walter Lowrie 1868
1846 James Donaldson 1872
1846 Aaron B. Belknap 1880
1868 Joseph Greenleaf 1871
1868 Findlay Wright 1881
1868 Latimer Bailey 1885
1868 Hezekiah King 1887
1868 Samuel Frost 1888
1885 Eugene McJimsey 1899
1885 Richard H. Bull 1892
1885 Samuel C. Brush 1887
1888 Robert Ferguson 1899
1888 Edwin J. Hanks 1890
1888 Charles M. Jesup 1896
1892 Julius S. Howell 1897
1892 Thomas Greenleaf 1908
1892
Oscar E. Boyd
1905
1895
Frank Hallett Lovell
1914
1895
Frederick Blume
1905
1897
Albert Remick
1900
1899
James Girvan
1915
1899
D. Stuart Dodge Jessup
1901
J. D. T. Hersey
1902
1901
Calvin W. Hendrick
1907
1901
Henry D. Dickson
1905
1902
Charles H. Olm stead
1916
1902
Walter W. Strang
1904
1903
William J. Hendrick
1912
1903
Roger H. Williams
1903
Edgar Fenton
1908
1905
Frederick A. Carpenter
1905
John T. Stanley
1908
1905
Joseph E. Messenger
1909
1905
F. Gustav Kindlund
1916
1906
John W. Farrington
1912
1906
James Henry
1906
James D. Miller
1912
James K. Andrews
1912
Henry Brown
1913
1912
Paul Caldwell
1913
Charles E. Davis
1913
Robert G. Parr
1915
Henry C. Martin
1917
William Read Hersey
8
FOREWORD
"Auspicante Deo," "By the favor of God." So runs the
opening sentence of the Votive Tablet erected by our fathers
in 1749 to commemorate their gratitude for the founding of
the Church and its preservation amid perils which threatened
its continuance.
"Auspicante Deo," "By the favor of God," the Two Hun-
dredth Anniversary of the establishment of Presbyterianism
in the City of New York by the organization of the Old First
Church, was celebrated during the week beginning December
the third. Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen. The unique sig-
nificance of this occasion was emphasized by a formal author-
ization issued by the Presbytery of New York, which directed
a general observance of the event in all the Presbyterian
Churches of the City, and the attendance of the Presbytery in a
body at the special Mid- Week Festival Service. The Synod
of New York took cognizance of the occasion by a Vote of
Congratulation and the appointment of a Special Representa-
tive to convey to the Church its official Greeting, The Mod-
erator of the General Assembly was present; participated in
the opening services, presided at the Wednesday night func-
tion, and expressed to the Old First Church the official felici-
tations of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America. The birth of Presbyterianism in the metropolitan
City of the country thus received official recognition both from
the local Church and the Church throughout the land.
The far reaching and influential touch of this event upon
the myriad sided life of the town during the past two cen-
turies, was signally attested by the presence at the Celebration,
of the representatives of all phases of religious opinion, and
all lines of civic activity, and all classes of social organization.
The President and Ex-Presidents of the United States sent
letters of personal congratulation. The Governor of the State,
the Heads of the City Government, Judges of the Courts, the
General of the Army, the Admiral of the Navy, Presidents of
Institutions of Learning, Officers of the Boards of the Church,
Representatives of other Religious Communions, Delegates
from Patriotic and Historical Societies by their presence com-
bined to infuse the Anniversary with a metropolitan and cath-
olic spirit which eloquently bespoke its profound meaning.
Throughout the week the national colors were displayed
upon the Church Tower. During all the days the sun shone
from an unclouded sky. Popular interest was manifested by
the crowded attendance at every service. The noble and stir-
ring history of the venerable Church was recited. The mul-
titudinous play of its energy upon the ecclesiastical and civic
life of the town was passed in review. Thanksgiving blended
with consecration. The review of the past brought benedic-
tion. The outlook upon the future kindled inspiration. The
grand old Church was revealed in the light of its story, as a
fountain-head of blessing, which opened by the grace of God
when the town was young, had poured forth through all its
years an unceasing stream of vitalizing beneficence ; and,
which, saved from dissolution by the hand of God, was pulsing
with the hope, that beneath God's smile, it would continue to
be a well-spring of yet more abundant good, so long as the
City should endure.
Every incident of this notable week provokes the heartfelt
petition with which our fathers closed their Votive Tablet :
"Annuente Christo
Perduret in aevo perpetuo."
The entire Celebration was marked by a spirit of dignity,
simplicity and enthusiasm. The plan was carried to comple-
tion without a flaw. Every assignment was met. Every in-
tention was realized. This completeness of success was in
no small measure due to the patient and efficient cooperation
of my Secretary, Miss Dickinson; my Assistant, Mr. Jaquith;
the Musical Director, Dr. Carl ; the Head Usher, Mr. Neilson ;
and the Sexton of the Church, Mr. Lewis. In this connection
there should ever be kept in mind the name of Dr. Harlan G.
Mendenhall, Moderator of the Presbytery and of the Synod of
New York, who, both officially and personally, exerted such a
wise and sympathetic influence in determining the scope and
lO
method of the Anniversary festivities, that he has put the Old
First Church and the Presbyterians of the City under large
and lasting obligation.
The printing of this Bi-Centennial Book, which preserves
in permanent form an invaluable Record of the Celebration, is
wholly due to the characteristic generosity of Mr. Charles
Mortimer Jesup, formerly an Elder of the Church, and always
the Friend and Helper of its Pastor.
Howard Duffield.
11
COMMEMORATION DAY
Sunday, December the Ninth, 9.30 A. M.
The Service in the Sunday School
The Old First Church of the future lies latent in the Bible
School of to-day. Because of this fact it seemed fitting that in
the Bible School the initial note of the Celebration should be
struck. The first half hour of the regular session was de-
voted to an observance of the Anniversary. Mr. Harold C.
Jaquith, the Pastor's Assistant, in charge of the School, gave a
brief sketch of the founding of the Church, its early struggles
on Wall Street, its growth, its removal to the cathedral-like
structure on Fifth Avenue, and the erection of the present
Chapel. Attention was called to the Votive Tablet now in the
vestibule of the Church, and with that as a text, a few remarks
were made concerning the unusual heritage of the Old First.
The responsibilities resting upon the young people to foster
and loyally to support the Old First Church and to foster its
growth as the historic organization passed into the third
century of its usefulness, were earnestly presented. The
Commemorative Services of the coming week were explained,
and a hearty invitation extended to all members of the School
with their parents to attend.
Dr. Duffield was present at the closing exercises of the
School and made a short address, speaking of the rare priv-
ilege which was conferred upon all who were associated with
such an historic Church ; of the beauty and the preciousness
of that legacy of prayer and faith which had come down
through an ancestry of devoted men and women, who for
two hundred years had loyally uplifted the banner of the cross
in the heart of this great City, — and of the obligation which
now rested upon every member of the Church family, young
and old, to make a record which when read in the light of the
after time should be of a piece with the thrilling story which
those who preceded us had written.
12
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
TILDEN FCL'i\DATIONS
COMMEMORATION DAY
Sunday, December the Third, 11 A. M.
The Morning Service
The Bi-Centennial Celebration began in sunshine. With-
out, the First Church was bathed in hght. Within, the Church
was beautiful and fragrant with floral offerings, the gift of a
former parishioner. Upon the Pulpit wall, the national colors
and the City flag were crossed. At the intersection of the flag
staffs was a shield of evergreen bearing the cipher of the Old
First Church. Upon the wall at either side of the banners
the dates "1716" and "1916" were blazoned in figures of red
upon a background of evergreen. When the Westminster
Chime pealed from the Tower and the opening notes of the
Organ rolled through the Church, every seat was occupied with
an expectant congregation.
At a quarter before eleven o'clock the officiating Clergy
assembled in the Pastor's Study. Together with Dr. Menden-
hall, Moderator of the Presbytery and of the Synod, and Dr.
Newman, Special Representative of the Synod, were Dr.
Forbes, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, Dr. Hoadley, Per-
manent Clerk of the Presbytery, Dr. MacCracken, Ex-Chan-
cellor of the University of the City of New York, Dr. Mallery,
and Dr. Stoddard.
At eleven o'clock the Clergy wearing their academic robes
entered the Church in procession through the Chapel doorway,
and preceded by Dr. Duffield and his Assistant took their places
in the Pulpit.
The Salutation was read by the Pastor and the Doxology
was sung by the People.
The following Invocation was delivered
By the Reverend Doctor Jesse F. Forbes
Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of New York
"Almighty God, Our Heavenly Father, help us to enter into
Thy gates with thanksgiving and to come into Thy Courts with
13
praise. We thank Thee for the past, fraught with precious
memories. We thank Thee for the present, abounding in
opportunities for service. We thank Thee for the future,
glorious with hope before us.
"Bless this old historic Church. Abide with and watch over
our Presbytery and the whole Presbyterian fellowship. Guide
and direct Thy people, that the Lord may come unto His King-
dom, and grant that the riches of Thy grace may rest upon us
and upon all the household of God, in His name who hath
taught us to pray ;
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done in earth as it is in
heaven ; give us this day our daily bread ; and forgive our tres-
passes as we forgive those who trespass against us ; and lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for Thine
is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."
The One Hundred and Fifteenth Psalm was sung as an
Anthem by the Choir.
The Seventy-Second Psalm was read responsively led
By the Reverend Doctor Charles Payson Mallery
The Thirty-fifth Chapter of the Prophecy of Isaiah was read
as a Scripture Lesson
By the Reverend Doctor James H. Hoadley
Permanent Clerk of the Presbytery of New York
Greeting from the Presbytery of New York
By the Reverend Doctor Harlan G. Mendenhall
Moderator of the Presbytery and Synod of New York
"It is my privilege to extend to the Pastor and the Officers
and Members of the Old First Presbyterian Church the greet-
ings of the Presbytery of New York on this historic day.
"To have perpetuated an unbroken church life in this City
of New York for two hundred years is an honor extended to
but very few similar organizations in this country ; and this
Church has come to this age, with eye undimmed and with
natural force unabated.
14
"You are linked, my friends, in your church life, with the
Protestant Reformation of the XVth Century, and you have de-
rived its traits direct from the Church of Scotland, with which
you were incorporated, I understand, for at least fifty years.
"You are congratulated upon being the Mother of all the
Churches in this Presbytery of New York, now numbering
over sixty, with a Church Membership of thirty-five thousand.
If we were to include in our Presbytery, the Greater City —
as the Presbyteries of Chicago and Pittsburgh have done —
this Church would be the Mother to-day of more than sixty
thousand Presbyterians enrolled in our Churches.
"Your membership has included men and women whose lives
have been identified with the moral and material development
of New York and the inspirers of those Presbyterians in all
our Churches, who have had so much to do with all those
higher ideals of life, that have led to righteousness in this
metropolis of the New World.
"We are not forgetful at this time of the fact that your un-
broken life has been due very largely to those eminent men
who have been your Pastors. That you have had only ten min-
isters— I believe that is the number — in this long life, shows
how illustrious those clergymen were who occupied this pul-
pit. Your present pastor is a worthy successor of those emi-
nent men. He came to you in one of the most critical times of
your history. I was in his audience twenty-five years ago when
he began his task, and I recall the enthusiasm of himself and
wife as he began what has since proven to be a most successful
pastorate.
"This Church, praise be to our Heavenly Father, is secure
for the coming years ; and no man is more deserving the hon-
or of this result than Dr. Duffield, who, for a quarter of a cen-
tury, has carried on this splendid work.
"Recognizing, therefore, these important events in your
history and the life of your honored Pastor, the Presbytery of
New York, at one of its public meetings, made formal recog-
nition of its congratulations on your Anniversary as a Church,
and on the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Pastorate of
15
Dr. Duffield, and at this hour and on this Anniversary Day, in
its name — on this day of days in the Calendar of your Church
life — I bring to you our joy, and our prayers that these com-
ing years may give both Pastor and people the victory of
service.
" 'The brightest glories earth can yield
The brighter bliss of heaven.' "
Then was sung the Hymn :
"Ancient of Days, who sittest throned in splendor."
Doctor Mendenhall then said:
"We will now listen to the Greeting from the Synod of New
York. It is brought to us by the Reverend Doctor Arthur
Newman, Ex-Moderator of the Synod, and Pastor of our
Church at Bridgehampton, Long Island.
"It may be interesting to know that the Church at Bridge-
hampton is just a little older than the First Church of New
York. It celebrated its two hundredth anniversary in Sep-
tember last. Dr. Dufifield was the representative of the Pres-
bytery of New York in extending greeting on that happy occa-
sion.
"The Synod of New York takes official cognizance of this
very important celebration in which we are engaged, and could
find no one better fitted to honor us than our dear friend, Dr.
Newman, who will now speak to you."
Greeting from the Synod of New York
By the Reverend Doctor Arthur H. Newman
"As Moderator of the Presbytery of New York and in a
sense at the head of Presbyterianism in New York, Dr. Men-
denhall ought to be infallible. I shall have to venture, how-
ever, to correct the announcement in the way it was just given.
I have the honor to belong to a Church that is almost two
hundred and fifty years old, and I am its ninth pastor. But
last September the Presbytery of Long Island celebrated its
Bi-centennial, and the Synod of New York took notice of that
fact, and sent a representative to speak for it on that occasion,
16
inasmuch as that marked the beginning of organized Presby-
terianism in the State of New York.
•'To-day the First Presbyterian Church in Nevv^ York City
begins to celebrate its Bi-Centennial, and the Synod of New
York takes notice of that fact and is represented on this occa-
sion because the organization of this Church marks the begin-
ning— the first step forward — of Presbyterian Church expan-
sion in the State of New York ; for it was practically the first
official act of the newly established Presbytery of Long Island
to establish this Presbyterian Church in New York City.
It is worthy of recalling at this present time that the first
English-speaking settlements in the State of New York, at
Southold and Southampton, in 1640, established a Church, at
the date of their beginning, and that these Churches were
Presbyterian in doctrine and, in a degree, Presbyterian in form
of government. It is worthy also of commemorating at this
time the fact that the first Church spire that the rising sun this
morning illuminated on the soil of the 'Empire State' was
the spire of a Presbyterian Church, and that its midday rays
now illumine almost one thousand Presbyterian Churches,
with two hundred and twenty-five thousand members, with one
hundred and eighty thousand Sabbath school scholars —
Churches, which last year contributed three and a quarter mil-
lion dollars towards their own support, and gave away a mil-
lion and three-quarters more.
"In the name, therefore, of this great body of fellow-workers.
Dr. Duffield, and Members and associates of this First Pres-
byterian Church, the Synod of New York offers to you its
deep congratulations.
"We are well aware of the fact that longevity may be un-
usual, and yet not noticeable. We are interested in this your
Commemoration, because we recognize that this Church is a
vine of the Lord's own planting, that it has been miraculously
fruitful in all these many years and, praise be to God's gra-
cious name, is fruitful to-day.
"I was listening this morning as the hour struck from the
great clock tower where the old Madison Square Presbyterian
Church stood, and as I was listening to it, I was recalling to
17
myself an event that took place in that church in 1873. The
Eucumenical Council met there at that time. Dr. Woolsey,
President of Yale College, delivered the opening address. In
the course of that address he quoted the familiar words :
" 'Oh, where are kings and empires now
Of old that went and came?
But, Lord, Thy church is praying yet,
A thousand years the same.'
"That was the time of the discussion of the so-called Tyndal
prayer test. You recall that, perhaps, — the proposition that
a certain group of patients in a certain hospital, that were
afflicted with certain diseases and treated in a certain way
should be prayed for; and in a certain other hospital, another
equal group of patients, with the same disease and with the
same treatment, should not be prayed for ; the consequences
to be watched and the efifect to be noted. The audience was
quick to note the suggestion of Dr. Woolsey's quotation ; it
was the sv/ift straight answer of the Church to the insinuation
of scientific scepticism.
I looked at your Year Book, and on one of its pages the
milestones of the Church's progress are noted down. The first
item was this : 'Presbyterian prayer meetings began in New
York City in 1706.' The First Presbyterian Church in New
York City was organized in 1716. This Church began its
life with prayer, in prayer i^- has continued and it 'is praying
yet, two hundred years the same.' We rejoice with you that
this is your life's story.
Sameness is a mark of stability. Nobody thinks anything
of the young man who changes his opinion, his vocation, his
abode ; but the mature man has fixed convictions, fixed opin-
ions, definite activities and a settled home. The man that
does' the same things again and again, is the man whose skill you
seek, whose counsel you avail yourself of, and in whose sta-
bility of character, the home, the Church and the State are
secure.
In this great city, — eager, enterprising, myriad-minded,
Athenian-like in its demand for novelty, — it is an inspiring
thing to come together to commemorate a public institution
18
that for full two hundred years has stood for the same thing;
recognizing that the heart-beats of men everywhere, in every
generation, are the same ; that the only hope of salvation given
under heaven, among men is the gospel of the cross of Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, to-day and forever.
When Abraham Lincoln had breathed his last, Secretary
Stanton, looking upon the face of the martyred President, ex-
claimed : "He belongs to the ages now."
It was finely said. Lincoln indeed became one of the im-
mortals. But he belonged to the ages all the while, for he
clearly saw and with the strength of a strong man stood for
the fundamental and eternal principles of truth and righteous-
ness and justice.
To-day we reverently and rejoicingly remind ourselves that
this Church belongs to the ages, founded upon and witnessing
to the faith delivered unto the saints, inheriting the prayers
and the labors of generations past and cherishing the gracious
purpose under God to make its debtors the generations to
come.
In the name of your brethren in this great commonwealth,
the State of New York, I offer you congratulations and bid
you God speed.
The Anniversary Prayer was then offered
By the Reverend Doctor Henry Mitchell MacCracken
Ex-Chancellor of the University of the City of New York
"We thank Thee, O God our Father, for speaking to us,
and for calling us to speak to Thee. We praise Thy voices
in nature, where the heavens declare Thy Glory and the firma-
ment sheweth Thy handiwork. We praise Thy speaking
in times past unto the fathers by the prophets. We praise
Thy speaking four hundred years ago by the new voices of the
Protestant Reformers. To-day we thank Thee for the Ger-
man Martin Luther, for the French John Calvin, the British
Tyndale and John Knox and all their noble company. Espe-
cially to-day we thank Thee here, for their disciples, who three
hundred years ago, came as colonists to America, to the South,
to New England, to these Middle States of ours, each bringing
19
with him his Bible. We thank Thee for that great forerunner,
that John the Baptist of the First Presbyterian Church of New
York, — for Francis Makemie, and for his apostolic work in the
South and in the North ; for his valiant championship two hun-
dred and ten years ago in this City of ours; when, in 1709, he
declared and defended, before a tyrannical governor, and for
weeks on a dungeon floor in the City of New York, the liberty
of a preacher of Christ.
"Thou O Almighty Spirit, didst strengthen Francis Ma-
kemie to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made
men free ! Through the long weeks in jail, charged with no
crime save preaching without license in the home of a friend
in this City, and baptising there the child of a friend, through
the weary months. Thou didst strengthen him to secure a trial
and complete acquittal before the law of the land. Thou
gavest him also, as Thou gavest the Apostle Paul, grace to
provide his own livelihood by his own efforts, being charge-
able to no man while preaching the truth of Christ. Even he,
suffered the loss of his worldly estate by the rulers of this
our City. For this apostolic harbinger and forerunner of the
Presbyterian Church here we glorify Thee this day, on this
two hundred and tenth anniversary of this martyr's suffering;
and we thank Thee for those disciples of his, who endured and
who two hundred years since organized this Church, not as a
church before the law until America became a free and inde-
pendent nation, but a church before God and after their own
hearts, before the infant presbytery of Makemie and his few
brother ministers in the Middle States and in the South. We
thank Thee for the more than ten thousand Sabbaths of holy
worship held by this congregation. We thank Thee for the
holy influence going out through two centuries to more than
ten thousand younger churches, for the unceasing stream of
beneficence to other churches at home and abroad and through
the whole round world ; for the patriotism of minister and
people, as in that time when the faithful pastor stood General
Washington's friend and helper, although driven from Church
and from home and from this City when occupied by English
troops ; for the hospitality of this Church shown to other
20
churches, and to our New York Presbytery where even now it
finds its home beneath this roof tree.
"We thank God to-day that Thou has brought this Church
out into a large place. We beseech Thee to continue its power,
continue its disposition to do liberal things. Even as this house
of praise and worship stands unique in the many miles of our
greatest avenue, to rejoice the eyes of every stranger with
admiration of its grassy greensward, its shrubs and its trees,
so make this Church ever a joy to our land and to the whole
world as a living memorial of Christ, known and read of all
men. And here may a true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
endure, as long as New York City shall endure, as long as the
heavens and the earth shall endure. All this we ask for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen."
A Selection from Schubert's "Song of Miriam" was sung
by the Choir as an OfTertory Anthem.
Dr. Mendenhall then referred to the fact that formal greet-
ings from great ecclesiastical bodies had been conveyed to the
Church as a notable historic organization, and he suggested
that now the people, assembled for this notable Anniversary,
should unitedly give their greeting to Dr. Duffield, under
whose personal leadership for the past twenty-five years the
Church had come to the threshold of its third century, clothed
with such power and promise. In response to this happy and
kindly suggestion, the entire assemblage rose and with waving
handkerchiefs gave to the Pastor of the Church a most impres-
sive and soul stirring salutation.
The Historical Sermon was then delivered
By the Reverend Doctor Howard Duffield
The Minister of the Old First Presbyterian Church
21
THE ANNALS OF THE OLD FIRST CHURCH
Book of the Psalms LXXH :16
"There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of
the mountains. The fruit thereof shall shake
like Lebanon."
One of the greatest assets of this wealthy town is its Pres-
byterianism. Long ago it was said that the real grandeur of
a city was to be measured not by the height of its roofs, but
by the spiritual stature of its citizens. For two hundred years
the quarrymen and hod carriers and iron workers have been
building and re-building the city which we see, raising ever
mightier walls and more stupendous towers. For two centur-
ies the Presbyterian way of looking at the truth has been
unceasingly at work helping to build a more glorious city, not
made with hands, nor viewed with eyes, but resplendent to the
inner vision, and defiant of the changes of time, a city which
shall be clothed with abiding strength and beauty when the
material glories of the town shall have vanished Hke a dream.
The city of our real habitation is not a structure of asphalt
and metal and timber and stone which is ever returning to its
native dust, but "a City which hath foundations whose builder
and maker is God," the home of a citizenry whose character
is moulded by faith and honor and righteousness and liberty
and truth, a commonwealth where the soul sits upon the
throne. For two hundred years our fathers have been the
builders of such a city. They laid the deep foundations of its
greatness upon the word of God. Its architecture they fash-
ioned after divine patterns. Its walls and gates they reared
by the magic might of exalted principles and noble ideals of
living. Their life force has impressed itself upon every
phase of its civic life. The tonic tingle of their blue blood
is in the veins of the body corporate. No single force has
contributed more directly to the development of the City's
real prosperity, and guaranteed the City's continued great-
22
ness, than that generated by the long line of those choice
spirits, who with an intelligent and unflagging devotion, have
translated into terms of daily life the elemental principles of
the Presbyterian faith. The rolls of its merchant princes
are inscribed with their signatures. In the company of its
commercial leaders they stand in the foremost rank. As
patrons of art, as promoters of science, as benefactors and
philanthropists, their names are as well known as the letters
of the alphabet. Of every movement that aims at the lifting
of the common burden and the giving a larger, sweeter defini-
tion to the common life, they are the spinal strength.
This mighty harvest has fruited from an insignificant seed-
ing. The beginning was beggarly, but the outcome is opulent.
A handful of corn has burgeoned into a forest of stately
cedars. A garden patch, sterile as Sahara, has clothed itself
with a glory like that of Lebanon. As the American continent
was sown with grain which God Himself had sifted, so the
Presbyterian Church in the City of New York has grown from
seed divinely hand-picked. The little company which cradled
the Church were winnowed by the fan of persecution. Their
passion for freedom of worship, their readiness to die for lib-
erty of the body and of the soul, their stalwart devotion to the
rights of men and the rights of God, were lessons learned in
the school of oppression. Their ancestors were the Huguenots
who were ever haunted by the horror of Bartholomew's Day;
the Puritans of England and of Holland, baptized with the
blood of the saints ; the Covenanters of Scotland, with heroic
memories of the martyrs burnt into their recollection and woven
into the very fibre of their being. The trumpet tones of
Luther, who defied the claim of the Emperor to act for him, or
of the Pope to think for him, never ceased to reverberate within
their souls. The call of God to witness for these truths, which
had come to them as a divine birthright, and were by them
transmitted as a priceless heirloom to their children, never slept
in their consciousness. The days of the Church's founding
were days which, tried men's souls. The heralds of a new
era are not baskers in the sunshine. The champions of human
rights do not feed upon sugar plums and loll upon roses. That
23
was an hour in which men were willing to suffer for righteous-
ness sake, and rejoiced when they were counted worthy to
endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Then, the
things of faith were the real things. They were the only reali-
ties. All else was shadow, flitting by, passing away. In that
hour, the truths of God were counted precious enough to die
for, and glorious enough to make martyrdom a boon. What
Lincoln said concerning the founders of the State, may well
be said of the builders of this Church. "The accounts of the
battlefields and struggles for the liberties of the country fixed
themselves upon my imagination. I recollect thinking, boy
though I was, that there must have been something more than
common that these men struggled for, . . . something that
held out a great promise to all the people of the world, for all
time to come."
The opening chapter in the story of New York Presbyterian-
ism reads like a leaf from the Book of Acts. The early Church
builders had at least two marks of apostolicity. The enter-
prise was planted in a prayer meeting, like that which was the
prelude to Pentecost ; and it was nurtured in a house, like
that of Aquila and Priscilla, so well known to Paul and his
fellow preachers. Into such a fireside circle came first of
all, in 1643, Francis Doughty, whose name happily bespeaks
his character, a bold and outspoken witness for the truth, who
for his devotion to freedom, had won the meed of ostracism
and exile. In 1650 followed the scholarly Richard Denton, a
graduate of Cambridge, and according to Cotton Mather, "one
of the lights of the day." The hearthside became an altar
place. As occasion offered, visiting clergymen ministered to
these waiting households of faith. In this simple fashion, little
companies gathered to pray, and to listen to the message of
such preachers of passage. Even such informal and instinc-
tive upreachings of the heart toward the light became the sig-
nal for persecution ; and the rattle of chains, and the crackle
of faggots greeted the earliest attempts in this City to wor-
ship God according to the call of conscience. To found a
Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, men had to
face the frowns of tyranny and to suffer for their faith. In
24
no other way do truth and freedom come to dwell in the earth.
The apostle of American Presbyterianism was Francis Ma-
kemie. He was a graduate of one of the Scottish Universi-
ties, and a member of the Presbytery of Laggan in North Ire-
land. He was a man of disciplined mind, commanding person-
ality, and fascinating address. Coming to America in response
to an appeal from the so-called dissenting Churches for relig-
ious instructors, he quickly and inevitably rose to the leader-
ship of American Presbyterians. Resident in the colonies of
the South, he treated all the colonies as his field and visited
throughout all their borders. Geographic boundaries were to
him imaginary lines. After attending a meeting of the
Presbytery at Philadelphia, in October, 1706, accompanied by
John Hampton he set out for Boston, and en route visited the
City of New York. The Governorship was at that time vested
in Lord Cornbury, who has earned the doubtful reputation of
being gifted with "all the vices of aristocratic arrogance joined
with intellectual imbecility," a reckless adventurer, profligate
and unprincipled, who had fled England to escape his creditors.
The little circle of New York Presbyterians being advised of
Makemie's presence, imploring him to preach. It was not
easy to find a place of meeting. The Dutch and French
Church buildings could only be opened with the consent of the
Governor. This being flatly refused, public worship was held
in the house of William Jackson, at the lower end of Pearl
Street. There was a small gathering of ten or fifteen persons,
no larger than that which long ago met in the upper room at
Jerusalem. A sermon was preached. A little child was bap-
tized. The names of five of that historic company have been
preserved. As they constitute the first group of the citizens
of New York known to have held a Presbyterian service in the
City, the roll should be recited. Their names were, David
Jamieson, Captain Theobolds, John Vanhorn, William Jackson,
and Anthony Young. Jamieson was a sweet singer, a man of
classical attainments, who during the persecutions in the Old
World had been arrested and sold as a slave in New York.
He had been bought by Mr. Clark, the Minister in the Fort,
and permitted to teach school. He had studied law and be-
25
came the Clerk of the Council. Vanhorn and Theobolds were
merchants. William Jackson was a shoe maker, and with
Anthony Young had been shipped from Scotland to the Amer-
ican Plantations. The coachman of the Governor was also
one of the little company. "Ye see your calling, brethren,
how not many great men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called. For God hath chosen the weak things
a world to confound the mighty, and things that are not to
bring to naught the things that are."
Upon the day following the sermon, Makemie and his com-
panion were arrested by Cornbury's order and thrown into
prison. In the absence of the Chief Justice they languished
in unjust confinement for nearly two months. By writ of
Habeas Corpus they at length secured a hearing in the Courts
and were admitted to bail. Mr. Makemie at the appointed
time returned to stand trial, in the conduct of which "it was
difficult to say whether he was most conspicuous for his talents
as a man, or for his dignity and piety as a Minister of the
Gospel." The jury acquitted him, but he was not discharged
until by shameful extortion he had been compelled to defray
not only the costs of the defence, but the fees of the prosecutor.
This bitter hounding of an innocent man aroused the entire
Puritan body of the colonists, and many an earnest and indig-
nant protest went over the seas concerning this violation "of
the law of the nation, and the common rights of Englishmen."
British justice prevailed and Cornbury was recalled. In re-
linquishing his office, the Governor discharged a Parthian arrow
in the shape of an elaborate apology for his administration,
which concluded with this vivid sketching of Makemie as
he saw him, "he is Jack of all trades; he is a preacher, a doc-
tor of physic, a merchant, an attorney, a counsellor at law, and
worst of all a disturber of governments."
The removal from the City of their arch persecutor seems
to have inspired the Presbyterians to renewed efforts to
crystallize their scattered forces into a regularly constituted
Church. Apparently they invited some minister to head this
undertaking, whose name has not been preserved, for under
date of December 2, 1709, Vesey, the Rector of Trinity Church,
26
writes, "that the Dissenting Minister is likely to gain no
ground." His stay must have been brief, as no record of it
remains, save this passing allusion. The people, however, kept
together. Their numbers increased. Confidence was re-
stored. Their long cherished desire came to fruition in 1716.
In that year a group of their leading spirits formulated a
definite plan of organization and took the steps necessary to
secure its realization. The story of this movement is written
in the Minutes of the Church of Scotland. It is there re-
corded that the prime movers in the enterprise were John
Nicoll, Patrick McKnight, Gilbert Livingston, and Thomas
Smith. William Livingston and William Smith are also
known to have been associated with the inception of this un-
dertaking. Mr. Thomas Smith was by birth an Englishman,
who from his distinguished services in establishing Presbyter-
ianism in the American colonies was held in high esteem in
the Church of Scotland. Mr. William Smith, who was from
Newport-Pagnell in England, became a Judge and a member of
the King's Council. Mr. Patrick McKnight, a native of the
North of Ireland, was a merchant and owner of some prop-
erty. But in establishing the Presbyterian Church in the City
of New York none exercised more dynamic influence than Dr.
John Nicoll, a graduate of Edinburgh University, and a physi-
cian of recognized eminence. Throughout his long life he gave
impetus and momentum to this enterprise. A man of clear
vision, and of strong, almost autocratic will, in other words, of
Scotch canniness and obstinacy, with the gifts of a leader and
with the enthusiasm of a martyr, he kept his hand on the helm
and set the course across the troubled seas upon which this un-
certain venture was embarked. In spite of the attacks which
he continually provoked, and of criticism, which perhaps his
rugged and unyielding self assertion may sometimes have mer-
ited, the sincerity, the unselfishness, the triumphant persistency
of the man came to be so conspicuously apparent, that those
associated with him have embalmed his memory in formal and
emphatic eulogy. So clear brained and resolute a leader inev-
itably becomes a target for critics and gossip. Nicoll held
his way unswervingly through a gauntlet of opposition until
27
he extorted admiration from those who had been at swords'
points with him. His companions upon the Board of Trustees
with whom he had frequent and serious differences of opinion
caused the following memorial to be entered upon their Min-
utes : "Be it remembered that J. Nicoll, Doctor of Physick did
for about the space of 20 years take almost sole care of the
temporal afifairs of this congregation upon himself, and did
leave the Church free of debt, at his own very great expense;
for which services to the Church, his name ought to be trans-
mitted to posterity at the beginning of this book with the high-
est marks of Honor and Regard." At his funeral service, his
Pastor declared "These walls will be the lasting monument of
his zeal for the house and public worship of God, in the erect-
ing of which he spent a considerable part of his estate, and
undertook a hazardous voyage to Europe for the establishment
and security of this infant society. Upon these and other
accounts too numerous to mention while a Presbyterian
Church exists in the City of New York the name of Nicoll will
ever be remembered with honor as one of its principal founders
and its greatest benefactor."
The first move of the organizers of the Church was to hire a
private house for a place of meeting. Their application is re-
corded in the Minutes of the Common Council. It is dated 7
August, 1717, and reads, "the house known as Venoo's house
situate in the Eastern part of the City is recorded as Publick
Meeting House for the Congregation of Dissenting Protestants
called Presbiterians, for the Publick Worship of Almighty
God." It was their intention to invite such Ministers as they
could prevail upon to visit the City to preach for them in turn
"giving them encouragement according to their ability." This
method speedily proved impracticable. Nearby Presbyterian
Ministers were not plentiful. Some attempted to come a hun-
dred miles or more, but were defeated by the primitive meth-
ods of travel. The people could secure no regularity of service.
They missed what they most needed, pastoral care. Although
"very, very small," they therefore determined to secure a Pas-
tor and in the summer of 1717 they issued a call to the Rev.
James Anderson of the Presbytery of Newcastle, Delaware,
28
who during a visit to New York had given them much sympa-
thy and encouragement, and had become thoroughly famihar
with the situation. He accepted their invitation and began
his pastorate early in the following December.
Almost immediately after his installation Mr. Anderson ad-
dressed a letter to Dr. Stirling, "principal of the CoUedge of
Glasgow." With a keen and vivid touch it illuminates the
situation as it appeared to one of the chief actors in it. The
unique importance of this paper as well as its picturesque style
warrants ample quotation
/" "This place, the City of New York, where I now am, is a
place of considerable moment & very poplous consisting as
I'm informed of about 3000 families or housekeepers. Its a
place of as great trade & businesse, if not more now, as any
in North America. In it are two minrs, of ye established
church of England, two Dutch minrs, one French minr, a Luth-
eran minister, an Anabaptist & also a Qwaker meeting. The
place did att first intirly belong to the Dutch ; After the Eng-
lish had it endeavours were used by ye chief of ye people who
then understood English toward the Settlement of an Eng-
lish dissenting minister in it, & accordingly one was called
from New England, who after he had preached sometime
here, having a prospect & promise of more money then what
he had among the dissenters, went to old England, took orders
from ye B. of London & came back here as minister of the
established church of E: Here he yet is, has done, & still is
doing what he can to ruin the dissenting interest in the place
& verifying ye old saying Omnis apostata est sectae sua osor :
Afterwards endeavours were used again & again by the fa-
mous Mr. Francis Mc Kemine, Mr. Hampton, Mr. Mc Nish
& others toward the Settlement of a Scots church in this
city, but by ye arbitrary management & influence of a wicked
high flying governour, who predeeded his excellency Briga-
deer Hunter, our present governor (may ye Lord blesse &
long preserve him) that businesse has been hitherto impeded
& could never be brought in a likely way to bear.
"The last summer, I being providentially here, & obliged to
stay here about businesse the matter of a month, att the desire
29
of a few especially Scots people, preached each Sabbath. Tho'
there were a pretty many hearers, yet there were but few yt
were able & willing to do anything toward the setting forward
such work, a few there were who were willing to do their utter-
most, but so few that I had then but small grounds to sup-
pose that any thing effectually could be done. Some time
before our last Synod, a call from this small handful with
some few others yt had joyn'd them, came to the presbytry
of Newcastle desiring a transporation of me from Newcastle
to New York, which the Presbytry referred to ye Synod then
in a little time to sit. The Synod, having a prospect of getting
Newcastle supplied by a young man one Mr. Crosse, lately
come from the North of Ireland, transported me hither.
The people here who are favorors of our church & per-
swasion, as I've told yow, are yet but few & none of the
richest, yet for all, I am not without hopes yt with Gods
blessing they shall in a little time encrease. Some are al-
ready come to live in the city & more are expected whose
langwage would not allow them to joyn with ye Dutch or
French Churches, and whose consciences would not allow
them to joyn in the service of the English Church. The
cheif thing in all appearance, now wanting, with Gods bless-
ing & concurrence to render us a growing flourishing con-
gregation, is a good large convenient house or church to
congregate in ; Some proposals are now sett on foot toward
the building of one, but building being here very coastly &
convenient ground to build such a house upon being yet more
coastly, & the handful of people yt are having their hands
full to doe toward the necessary Support of their minister
we shall not be able to goe through with the building of
such a house as the place requires without the assistance of
our friends : The crying necessity of having the Gospell &
Gospell ordinances dispensed purly in our langwage here,
This seeming to he the time for carrying on such a work,
while things are So moderate att home, & while we have such
a wise moderate governour here. Together with the hopes of
the growing of our interest & the hopes of some assistance
from our friends & brethren att home, att least in building,
30
were cheif considerations moving the Synod to transport me
hither & begetting a willingness in me to comply with the
Synod's act.
"I believe by this time yow smell my drift. I don't know
how to begin to beg any more att your door least I should
be reckoned (to use our own Scots word) missleard. But
if any of your Substantiall Merchts or some other Synod
could be prevailed upon to contribute toward the building of
a Scots church here Oh ! how acceptible would it be to re-
ligion & our interest in the place. Severall of our Scots mer-
chants trade hither & I doubt not more will when before
now they have come, they understanding neither Dutch nor
French were oblidged either to stay att home or goe to ye
church of E ; or worse which has been ye occasion of some
mischiefs Wickednesse & inconveniences, which I hope in a
great measure if this work of God succeed here, shall hereafter
be prevented, I am afrayid I have wearied yow."
The records of the Church reveal the steps which were
taken by the new-born society to become housed in a home of
its own, the desire for which is so feelingly treated in this
epistle.
In 1718 Dr. Nicoll, Patrick McKnight, Gilbert Livingston and
Thomas Smith purchased a lot for a Church building near
the corner of Wall Street and Nassau Street adjoining the
newly erected Municipal Building (which occupied the site
where now stands the Sub Treasury Building). To raise the
necessary funds for the purchase of the land and the erection
of the building, in addition to private subscription, the Legis-
lature of Connecticut was appealed to, and also the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Both these bodies re-
sponded with such substantial assistance, that the building of
the Church was carried steadily forward. Until they should
be possessed of an edifice of their own, the infant congrega-
tion obtained permission to hold their services in the new
City Hall "provided they do not interfere with, or obstruct, the
Public Courts of. Justice to be held from time to time in
said City Hall." "This municipal building," writes Nicoll,
"was costly and magnificent." It was then regarded as one
31
of the prominent architectural ornaments of the City. The
site had been donated to the municipality by Colonel Abraham
de Peyster. The corner stone had been laid by Mayor
Provost. The cost of the structure was $1500. It was a two
story brick building, the jail being upon the lower floor. The
upper story contained accommodations for the Assembly, the
City Council, and the Supreme Court. The building con-
tained a library for the use not only of the City of New
York, but under specified restrictions, of residents in New
Jersey and Connecticut. The inefficiency of its early manage-
ment, led to the organization of the Society Library. With
this group of occupants the new-born Presbyterian Church
shared the shelter of the City Hall for nearly three years.
In 1719 the Church edifice was completed and dedicated.
The satisfaction of the young organization found expression
in a letter to the Governor and Legislature of Connecticut.
"We now with rejoicing crave leave to acquaint the Assembly
that by the assistance we experienced from Connecticut we
were not only encouraged to go on with our begun building,
which otherwise was like to drop and go to ruin, but were also
able to get it under roof, so that now with joy we enjoy the
ordinances dispensed to us therein. We heartily thank you
for your opportune, free and voluntary liberal aid to a small
despised handful, which we hope designs nothing else but the
honor of the glorious Lord, and the eternal good of their
souls, and of their children." But in this very expression
of their exultation it crops out that a seed of menace has
rooted itself in their society. The sum raised in Connecticut,
they go on to say, was less than expected, "the charity of
some having been cooled by false and malicious reports dis-
persed among the colonies." This root of bitterness, as al-
ways, grew with a tenacious and exuberant vitality. We find
it hinted at in a letter of Cotton Mather written at this time
to Dr. NicoU "for communication" in which he says: "We
are very sensibly touched with grief at the information you
give us of the strange difficulties under which ye evangelical
affairs are laboring. Since it is from you only we have been
informed of them this gives us a little hope that they may
32
not grow to the extremity you may be afraid of. We never
yet have had any disadvantageous representations of the worthy
Mr. Anderson made to us, nor shall we receive anything to
his disadvantage, without first giving him and you an oppor-
tunity of vindication."
The next step was to become incorporated in order that title
might be taken to the land and the building. The earliest ap-
plication for a charter was preferred to the Kings Council, 4th
of March, 1720, by Mr. Anderson and five others. They
style themselves "Scots from North Britain" and represent
the distressing inconvenience of vesting their property in the
name of individual owners, which they are compelled to do
until chartered by law. The vestry of Trinity Church was
represented by Counsel in opposition, and the request was
finally dismissed. After a change of Governorship had oc-
curred, the application was renewed September 19th, and in
opposition are found certain of the Trustees of the Church
itself. The English members of the Board, Livingston and
Smith, arrayed themselves against the Scotch Irish contingent
headed by Nicoll and McKnight. The animus of this opposi-
tion was the apprehension that the rigid Scotch element would
gain control of the possessions and the organization of the
Church, and it was believed that the situation of the more lib-
eral minded English element would be freer and better without
a charter granted to those who then aspired, as it was claimed,
to secure control of the Church. This cause of alarm was
unquestionably emphasized, perhaps created, by the attitude of
Mr. Anderson. Although a man of talents and spirituality,
and an able and popular preacher, he did not seem to have
mastered accurately the problems of the situation, nor to
have brought sufficient tact to their solution. It is clearly
evident that a number of his people and officers were unac-
customed to the rigid theories of the Scottish Kirk and resented
certain of its principles which he undertook to enforce. His
opponents accused him of "affecting a strictness which the
Presbyterians of England had not been used to and interfering
in the temporalities of the congregation, and the disposition
of the Public Money (with which ministers ought to have no
33
concern)." This feeling became so intensified by pulpit
utterances of Mr. Anderson, that the same gentlemen who
challenged the granting of the charter, entered a complaint
before the Presbytery of Long Island with reference to the
regularity of his settlement as Pastor. After a patient hear-
ing it was decided that the proceedings of his induction
into the pastorate were entirely regular. Complaint was then
lodged against two of his sermons. These were read. Pres-
bytery approved them, "as orthodox and godly, but in some
portions not so mild and soft as might be wished." The dif-
ferences became so pronounced, and led to such unseemly
personal collision and bred such unholy heat, that a schism
occurred. The Scotch faction stood with the Pastor. The
English contingent withdrew from the organization. The se-
ceding company began promptly casting about for a place of
worship. From the Minutes of the City Council it is learned
that Mr. Thomas Grant, conspicuous in his opposition to Mr.
Anderson, obtained the authority in 1721 to use the house of
John Barbour near the Fort, as a place of assembly. Late
in the same year record is made of a new house lately erected
and built in the East side on Smith Street, (now William
Street) "for a meeting house for the congregation of dis-
senting Protestants called English Presbiterians for the Pub-
lick Worship of God." In the living room of this building
there ministered to the little circle of worshippers, a lad of nine-
teen, tall, slender, pale of face, but of marked refinement, and
carrying in his bearing tokens of the promise which the after
years fulfilled. His name was Jonathan Edwards. A recent
graduate from Yale University, as he crossed the threshold of
professional life, he first exercised the gospel ministry as a
leader of the liberal wing of New York Presbyterianism. "I
had," he writes in his diary, "abundance of sweet religious con-
versation with the family of Madam Smith." "Very fre-
quently," another entry runs, "I used to retire to a solitary spot
upon the banks of the Hudson at some distance from the city
for contemplation upon divine things and secret converse with
God, and had many sweet hours there." This remote spot
was a stretch of pebbly shore which stretched along the
34
water's edge from the present Cortlandt Street to Barclay
Street. The ministry of Mr. Edwards lasted but eighteen
months. At its close owing largely to his personal influence,
the separation terminated, those who had withdrawn, return-
ing again to the parent church. But the difficulties which had
been engendered could not be entirely eliminated. Debate
followed debate. Criticisms were launched bitterly at every
step in the church work. Appeals were continually taken to
the Presbytery and to the Synod until in September, 1726,
Mr. Anderson being called to Donegal in Pennsylvania re-
moved to that place where he prosecuted a notably successful
ministry. He died in 1740. The Presbytery entered upon
their records a Minute expressive of their high esteem for
"his circumspection and diligence and faithfulness as a Chris-
tian Minister."
The enforced removal of Mr. Anderson left the Church
facing a dismal outlook. The first decade of its existence
had been a story of disaster. In spite of its brave struggle,
it was pastorless, amid circumstances that certainly did not en-
courage any minister to assume the obligations of its pastorate.
The Church had failed to obtain incorporation, and it was
clearly apparent that all hope of corporate existence must be
postponed to a remote future. Even if clothed with power to
hold property, its material possessions were little worth the
holding. Its Meeting House was lamentably out of repair, the
roof leaky, admitting snow and rain ; six of the eight windows
unglazed ; the fences about the ground clamoring to be re-
built. The woe-begone appearance which the Church pre-
sented to the community was painfully significant of inter-
nal conditions. The congregation was reduced to a very
handful. It was rent by serious dififerences. It was handi-
capped by a reputation for lack of harmony. A church
fight was no more of an aid to church success two hundred
years ago than it is to-day. The community at large
was not powerfully drawn to the support of an organization
whose most conspicuous achievement was dissension. The
menace of impending dissolution seems to have compelled a
truce between the discordant groups in the church member-
35
ship. Divisive questions were laid upon the table. All par-
ties joined hands and girt loins for fresh start. With in-
spiring unanimity a call for a Pastor was issued. It is a
significant fact that in this exigency the Church directed its
appeal to the opposite quarter of the theological compass
from that to which they had looked for Mr. Anderson. Hav-
ing experimented somewhat unhappily with a clergyman of
Scottish extraction, they now invited as their leader a minister
from New England. A statement of their condition and an
appeal for assistance was addressed to the clergy of Boston.
In response to this solicitation a young licentiate named
Ebenezer Pemberton was sent in the spring of 1727 as a
candidate for this arduous but honorable post. At the time of
this visit Mr. Pemberton was about twenty-three years of age.
He came of a godly ancestry. He was a child of the manse.
His father had filled one of the pulpits of Boston with notable
ability. He had inherited a love of letters, and was graduated
from Harvard College in 1721. His aptitude for future war-
fare as a good soldier of Christ had been indicated by a three
years service as Chaplain at Castle William in Boston Harbor.
The impression which he made upon the congregation in New
York was most favorable and he was promptly given a formal
and urgent call to take pastoral charge of the Presbyterian en-
terprise. In the quaint language of the Church records this
call was issued by "the scattered remnants of the first under-
takers with some few others." The opening of the pastorate is
thus depicted : "For some years after his coming the congre-
gation numbered about 70 or 80 persons old and young.
The salary was perpetually in arrears. The buildings re-
mained unfinished. The minister was greatly discouraged.
At length six of the eight windows which had continued
covered with boards these many years were glazed. The
showers of Heaven began to open upon the congregation."
Mr. Pemberton returned to New England to receive ordina-
tion. This service was held in Boston, his native city, August
9, 1727. The sermon on this occasion was from the text "And
behold a man of the company cried out saying. Master I be-
seech Thee look upon my son for he is mine only child." The
36
reading of this text after these many years, recalls the emo-
tions of that long past hour, when with deeply stirred hearts
that company of great souled and devoted people gathered to
send forth, with mingled anxieties and expectations, upon an
adventure of extreme peril, and high consequence, this gifted
youth known to them from his boyhood and honored and be-
loved of all for his parent's sake, as well as his own. The ven-
erable minister elected to counsel him, dwelt upon the young
man's parting from his beloved mother, his removing from the
city to which he had given the first fruits of his labor, his be-
ing called to the head city of a province and the goodness of
God in having schooled him for this service and inclined him
for this distant and important work. He reminded him of
the hand of God in the affection of the flock about him, and
presented as a motive of faithfulness the piety of his parents
and grandparents. He enjoined him to prepare 'beaten oil
and sweet incense for the sanctuary,' and earnestly to con-
tend against the common errors of the day, maintain the doc-
trine of worship and discipline established from the begin-
ning, assert expressly the Trinity, the true Godhead of Jesus,
and justification by faith, insist on the observance of the Lord's
Day and urge the duty of family worship and family govern-
ment. These were his concluding words. "The God of New
England, before whom our fathers walked, go with you and
give you the blessing of Abraham and to thy seed." With
such admonitions and benedictions, the youthful preacher ad-
dressed himself to a task, from which brave men might have
turned away.
The ministry thus inaugurated was marked from its outset
by the most encouraging success. The new pastor unified the
people and not only won their warmest hearted affection, but
also the respect and admiration of the general public. The
historian Smith being witness "he was a man of polite breed-
ing, pure morals, and warm devotion ; under whose incessant
labors the congregation greatly increased. He was a respect-
able, diligent and useful pastor and preacher." He won for
himself a conspicuous and honorable place among the ministers
of the city. Those who enjoyed his preaching and through a
37
long term of years were shoulder to shoulder with him in the
work of the Church, speak with a warmer accent. Their feel-
ing glows through the faded ink of the record book which
states "under his ministry, by the Divine Blessing, this Church
and congregation has happily retrieved its honor and repu-
tation, and is increased to at least ten times the number of
those who statedly attended divine worship. . . . After long
experience of him, now near twenty years, in a profound peace
the Church has greatly flourished." Such gracious issues were
not the work of a day, nor the result of accident, nor the fruit
of child's play. Vigilance, prudence, and prayers without
ceasing, were the steps along the road over which the church
advanced from the cloud into the sunlight. One of the earliest
acts of this ministry was the giving of stability to the Church
property by vesting the title in the officials of the Church of
Scotland. It had become apparent that all endeavors to re-
ceive charter rights from the City government must prove
futile and in order to secure such guarantees as would dissi-
pate the sense of insecurity, which hung about the enterprise
like a malaria, the individuals, who held in their own names the
Church building and grounds in Wall Street, on March 16th, N\o>M
1730, conveyed the fee simple "to the Moderator of the Gen-
eral Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Commission
thereof, the principal of the College of Edinburgh and the Pro-
fessor of Divinity therein, the Procurator and agent of the
Church of Scotland for the time being, and their successors in
office, as a Committee of the General Assembly." On August
15, 1732, the Church of Scotland by an instrument under seal
of the General Assembly signed by Mr. Neil Campbell, Prin-
cipal of the University of Glasgow and Moderator of the Gen-
eral Assembly and the Commission thereof, Mr. James Nesbit,
one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and Moderator of the
Presbytery of Edinburgh, Mr. William Hamilton, principal of
the University of Edinburgh, Mr. James Smith, advocate prose-
cutor for the Church of Scotland, did, pursuant to an act of
the General Assembly, May, 1731, declare "That notwith-
standing the aforesaid right made to them and their successors
38
in office, they were desirous that the aforesaid building and
edifice and appurtenances thereof, be preserved for the pious
and reHgious uses for which the same were designed, and that
it should be free and lawful to the Presbyterians then residing
or that should at any time thereafter be resident in or near
the aforesaid city of New York in America, or others joining
with them to convene in the aforesaid Church for the worship
of God in all the parts therefor and for the dispensation of all
gospel ordinances, and generally to use and occupy the said
Church and its appurtenances fully and freely in all times
coming, they maintaining and supporting the edifice and appur-
tenances at their own charge."
The Church having been clothed with corporate rights as
far as these were attainable, its legal status having been given
satisfactory definition in the eyes of the community and its
confidence in its own future having been advertised, arrange-
ments were devised for its proper financing. The termination
of Mr. Anderson's ministry had plunged the Church not only
into disruption but, to quote the language of the contemporary
Trustees, left it burdened with "extreme poverty." To resus-
citate the decrepit money supply and to create a regular and
dependable source of annual revenue engaged the attention
of the Board of Control. It was, reads the records, "Unani-
mously agreed that the natural fund for the support of the
ministry and salary of the clerk and sexton of the said Church
is to rent the Pews and seats, the money arising from the
opening of the ground for Burials, and the produce of the
Pawl and the Black Cloth, which ought to be so rated as to
answer those charges, if it conveniently can be done." It is
not without interest to note the schedule of rating for the
"Burials," which was evidently depended upon as the major
source of income. The tariff upon tombs depended upon
their location, and the amount to be paid, for adults, was re-
duced for children under fourteen. For grown persons buried
within the Church, the cost was £5, for a child £1.3. For the
honor of a grave in front of the Church, more must be paid
than for interment at the ends ; while an obscure and hidden
resting place "after life's fitful fever" might be obtained in the
39
hired part at the back, for the very moderate sum of "three
shillings." If the Pawl was required, the price was one shilling.
If in addition, the dignified drapery of the Black Cloth was
sought, six shillings must be paid. In this connection the
Sexton was officially admonished that "he must not open the
ground for Burial, but after some creditable personage engag-
ing to pay the rates, on neglect of which, such charges were to
be made to himself." Of this he was to be notified immedi-
ately. New England and Scotland might differ in theology,
but they preached the same gospel of thrift. The graveyard
was regarded as the best possible real estate investment, for the
Minutes of the Trustees continue that any "surplus was to re-
main as a Church stock, for the purchase of ground for burial
of the dead." Apparently a member of the Church could
scarcely find a more effective way of serving it, than by dying
for it. It is interesting to observe that the burying ground
being arranged for, the next most desirable use to which the
Church funds could be devoted, was the "building of a Steeple
and the purchasing of a Bell."
While the financial relations of the Church were thus being
satisfactorily established Pemberton was giving himself to the
development of the spiritual possibilities of his charge with a
whole-hearted zeal that, says the Minute Book, "came to bear
exceeding heavy upon the minister." He preached twice every
Sabbath Day. The elaborate sermons of the morning were
supplemented by a scriptural exposition every Sunday evening.
The ordinary round of catechetical and pastoral visitation cre-
ating a demand for increased religious instruction, it was sup-
plemented by introducing weekly and occasional lectures. The
mid-week lecture, being an innovation, occasioned the ever
ready critic to circulate a sneer "concerning some who pretend
to water what God has planted, by setting up lectures."
The anxious readiness of Mr. Pemberton to undertake what-
ever might strengthen the Church influence and the singular
ingenuity of faultfinders in discovering grounds for attack, is
made apparent by a curious entry in the old records : "Whereas
it has been a practice in the Churches and congregations East
and West to have funerals attended with more religious form
40
that hath been usual among us, and the French and Dutch
Churches in the city, and the want of it hath given unpleas-
antness to several well disposed persons, and j\'Ir. Pemberton
having offered to attend that service gratis (if desired) by a
funeral prayer, either in the Church, (if the relatives of the
deceased will be at all expense of candles,) or at the grave, if
candles are not provided, it is unanimously approved and con-
sented to, that that practice be introduced into this congrega-
tion, in cases where it shall be desired, and lest any innovations
may give offense, that Mr. Pemberton take further consent
of the whole people, if he think proper." The majority en-
dorsing cordially this scheme, it became the customary cere-
monial. Where the immense banking houses now cluster so
thickly upon Wall Street, Mr. Pemberton, long ago in those
homespun days, stood in the plain unfinished candle lighted
meeting house, or with a circle of mourning friends whose
means were unequal to providing "candles," at the brink of the
open grave in the church yard, as the evening shadows deep-
ened, and offered prayer for the healing of the broken heart,
and for the fortifying of the troubled faith. A minority of
the people resented this custom, and never entirely forgave
the Pastor for its practice.
The most marked access of spiritual prosperity and the
establishment of the Church upon enduring foundations was
the result of the visit of that Chrysostom of the Nineteenth
Century, George Whitfield. This man of God, gifted with phe-
nomenal power, "uniting the intellect of a cherub with the heart
of a seraph and the eloquence of an apostle," visited New York
in the year 1739. The preaching places of the City were barred
against his occupancy. Mr. Pemberton was the only clergy-
man of the City who opened to him the doors of his Church.
His ministrations unsealed a well spring of blessing. The
entrance of the Church upon the path of its long and distin-
guished metropolitan ministry dates from his advent.
Throngs flocked to hear his message. Few who came within
the sound of his vojce remained unmoved in heart. The First
Presbyterian Church became recognized throughout the town
as a centre of holy influence, and a seat of religious power.
41
In a warm hearted letter from Mr. Pemberton to Whitfield, the
effects of the evangelist's visit are graphically described. Un-
der date of November 28, 1739, he writes: "I found the next
day that you had left the town under a deep and universal con-
cern, many were greatly affected, and I hope abiding impres-
sions were left upon some. Some that were before loose and
profligate look back with shame upon their past lives and con-
versations and seem resolved upon a thorough reformation. I
mention these things to strengthen you in the blessed cause
you are engaged in and support you under your abundant
labors. When I heard so many were concerned for their
welfare, I appointed a lecture upon Wednesday evening, tho
it was not a usual season, and though the notice was short. We
had a numerous and attentive audience. In short I cannot but
hope your coming among us has been the means of awakening
some among us to a serious sense of practical religion and may
be the beginning of a good work in this secure and sinful
place. Let your prayers be joined with mine for this desirable
blessing. I desire your prayers for me in particular that I
may be faithful in my Master's work, that I may be an instru-
ment in the hands of the Lord for the putting down of the
stronghold of sin and Satan and building the Redeemers King-
dom in this place. Your affectionate brother, E. Pemberton."
Dr. Nicoll, whose unremitting and long continued labors
were nearing their close, records with grateful pen the Pente-
costal events which moved him to sing "Nunc dimittis." Un-
der the date of October, 1740, he writes to the Agent of the
Church of Scotland :
"A large increase of gifts was bestowed upon the Minister.
The divine presence manifestly appeared among our people
so that upon our doors might be written "Jehovah Jireh, the
Lord is there." The edifice became quite full, which some of
us for a long time scarce hoped to see. The effects were vis-
ible in the town, particularly in our congregation, and in my
own family. Little children followed Mr. Pemberton to his
lodgings weeping and anxiously concerned about the salvation
of their souls. The Good Lord hath stirred up Gilbert and
42
Mr. Tennant but Satan is using his utmost effort to drive
some of them to extremes."
An emphatic indication of the expanding influence of the
Church and the prominence and capacity of its Pastor is at-
tested by the part Mr. Pemberton was called upon to play in
the establishment of Princeton College. He became affiliated
with a constellation of the brightest minds in the Synod, who
were anxiously desirous of erecting an institution of learning
for the training of ministers. In their deliberations and en-
deavors he seems to have taken no small part. An advertise-
ment in the Weekly Post Boy, February 10th, 1846, announces
the practical outcome of their plans.
"Whereas a Charter, with full and ample privileges, has
been granted by his Majesty under seal to the Province of
New Jersey, bearing date of 22 October 1746 for erecting a
College in said province, to J. Dickinson, John Pierson, Ebe-
nezer Pemberton, and Adam Birn, Ministers of the gospel, and
some other gentlemen as Trustees of the said College, by such
Charter equal liberties and privileges are secured to every
denomination of Christians, any different religious sentiments
notwithstanding."
In his history of Princeton College, Dr. John Maclean, its
venerated President, ascribes the successful launching of the
enterprise very largely to Dr. Pemberton and his friend and
adviser, William Smith. Governor Belcher, the Chief Magis-
trate of New Jersey, under whose patronage the charter of the
College was obtained, writes to Mr. Pemberton "as to a new
charter, if you and the rest of the gentlemen will digest their
matter, and let me have a rough of it, you will be sure of my
protection." It was Mr. Smith, an officer of the First Church,
who 'roughed out' the main provisions of the charter under
which the College was organized, and designed its official seal.
Both he and his Pastor became Trustees of Old Nassau, Mr.
Pemberton holding office until his removal to New York, Mr.
Smith remaining in office until his death. From that day until
the death of Dr. Paxton, the First Church has never lacked at
least one representative in the administrative Board of the Col-
43
lege. The first recipient of the degree of "D.D." conferred by
the new institution was Mr. Pemberton.
In 1729, two years after Mr. Pemberton's coming to New
York, the Dutch congregation had become so prosperous that
a new and imposing church had been erected at no great dis-
tance from the place of Presbyterian worship. It was located
upon Nassau Street below Cedar and Liberty Streets. It was
of great size, capable of containing twelve hundred people.
It possessed no small architectural pretension. The view from
its lofty steeple was famed throughout the city for beauty and
extent. Some seven years later the Presbyterian folk had
witnessed the rebuilding and enlargement of Trinity Church,
its next-door neighbor on the West. "It was attractively lo-
cated on the banks of the Hudson (to quote the history of
William Smith). On either side lay its cemetery, enclosed
with a paled and painted fence. Before it stretched a long
walk to the riverside. The building was of extensive and
stately proportions and crowned with a lofty spire. The door-
way facing riverwards, was inscribed with a Latin memorial
of the royal favor under which the Church was founded. The
interior was the most elaborate in the city. The chancel was
graced with a beautiful altar piece. The pillars were crested
with winged angels gilded. The walls were decorated with
heraldic insignias of its noble adherents. Two 'glass branches'
depended from the ceiling. The 'allies' were paved with
smoothed stone." The contrast between these tokens of abun-
dant success and the leaky roof and weather beaten walls, the
unseemly fences and boarded windows, and "candles if pro-
vided" must have irked the members of the Presbyterian con-
gregation, and have hindered its impact upon the community.
At length came the turn of the tide. The wise lines
along which the Church work was prosecuted under Mr.
Pemberton's ministry, his personal devotion and force
of character, the widespread and enduring results of
Mr. Whitfield's work, bore its appropriate fruit. The size of
the church edifice became inadequate to the demands of the
enlarging congregation. Galleries were added and quickly
filled. The services of an Assistant Minister were required.
44
In 1748 circumstances forced the people to study the exciting
proposition of the enlargement of the Church. With the as-
sistance of outside aid, the necessary funds were obtained, and
the rebuilding of the Church prosecuted to a happy and longed
for issue. The edifice was larger by one-third than that which
it replaced. It was built of hewn stone. Its shape was oblong,
being eighty feet in length by sixty feet in breadth. A grace-
ful steeple towered aloft at the southwestern end one hundred
and forty-four feet in height. A Memorial Stone of black slate
was procured from Boston and imbedded in the Church wall
between the two long windows fronting the street. The in-
scription composed by Mr. William Smith was in Latin and
was most artistically engraved in script upon the stone in gilt
letters. Translated into English it reads : "By the favor of
God this building consecrated for the perpetual celebration of
the divine worship, first erected in 1719 and afterward repaired
throughout and rebuilded larger and more beautiful in 1748,
the Presbyterians of New York founding it for their own use
and the use of their children, in this Votive Tablet dedicate it
to the God who gave it. May it be yet more illustriously
adorned by religious concord, by love, and by purity of faith
and manners, and by the blessing of Christ may it endure
throughout many generations."
A memorandum upon the Trustee Book records the fact that
"10 September 1749, the bell was rung from a Presbyterian
steeple for the first time in the city of New York." It is not
easy for us to appreciate the thrill which these bell notes wak-
ened. Every description of a church in Smith's History of the
early City, Dutch, French or Episcopalian, notes that their
buildings have "a. steeple and a bell." When the church roof
was open to the weather and the building of disreputable ap-
pearance, and the necessity for ground in which to bury their
dead with decency and safety was crying aloud, the Presby-
terian heart burned with an irrepressible determination to
compass the possession of a "Bell." The reason is explicitly
stated, "Not only to call the congregation together," say they,
"but also for want of the more honorable support of the divine
worship, and to take away our Reproach, it being a vulgar
45
error among us that we are incapable of the privilege." When
at length a peal from a Presbyterian steeple rang out over the
city, it sounded to them as the voice of an angel from heaven.
That bell note announced the removal of their "Reproach." It
heralded their entry into the goodly fellowship of the Churches
of the City. It rang out weary days of darkness, dissension
and defeat.
Under Dr. Pemberton's able leadership the attendance of the
Church was so greatly increased and the scope of its work en-
larged, that its care exceeded the powers of a single minister.
The Rev. Alexander Cumming, a young man who as Stated
Supply of a church in New Brunswick, N. J., had given prom-
ise of brilliant success, was called to be an Assistant Pastor.
In October, 1750, he entered upon his duties. Of Scottish an-
cestry and possessing an energetic personality and a disciplined
mentality, he proved himself a worthy associate of the accom-
plished and successful Pemberton, sympathizing with him in
his liberal views of church order, and manifesting commend-
able elasticity of thought in adapting himself to whatever
changes of plan and effort the problems of the church life de-
manded. A clear thinker, a forcible preacher, a companion-
able man, he won the admiration and affection of the people
of the Church, and secured for himself an enviable standing in
the community.
The marked ability and spirituality of this dual pastorate
seemed a guarantee of the Church's prosperous advance. But
the classic root of ecclesiastical dissension suddenly yielded its
baleful fruit. There is no such inevitable destroyer of church
harmony as church music. Upon the question of its hymnol-
ogy, the congregation disintegrated into cliques. "Rouse's
Version," "Watt's Imitation," "Tate and Brady's Transla-
tion" became the jarring watchwords of different groups of the
people, and soon rang out as clamorously and scarcely less
bitterly than the slogans of political parties. Each group firmly
believed itself to be "contending earnestly for the faith once for
all delivered to the saints." Presbytery in vain strove to calm
the storm. The episcopal power of the Synod was invoked.
After protracted discussion, permission was given to use in the
46
worship of the Church the version of Watt's, as well as that
of Rouse. The rigid advocates of the traditional psalmody, in
the intensity of their feeling, began to formulate complaints
against their Pastors, and feathered their shafts by adducing
various charges of ministerial delinquency, in addition to that
of an heretical indifference to the exclusive use of the Scottish
Psalm Book. Charges were tabled under the following bill
of particulars :
"(1) — For giving exhortations at funerals when requested
by friends of deceased persons to do so. (2) — For not pay-
ing formal ministerial visits according to the usage of the
Church of Scotland. (3) — For making the introductory
prayer in public worship, reading the Scriptures and giving out
the first Psalm from the Clerk's desk, instead of the pulpit.
(4) — For secretly favoring the introduction of the new system
of psalmody." Mr. Cumming was also charged with the sin
of "insisting upon family prayer as a necessary prerequisite in
everyone to whose child he administered baptism." This in-
dictment was tabled and tried before the Presbytery and Synod,
and the ministers completely exonerated. Dr. Pemberton,
sickened by the lack of spirituality among the people, which
threatened to overthrow all that he had accomplished, and Mr.
Cumming, burdened with declining health, together withdrew
from the pastorate. This action seems in some measure to
have opened the eyes of the people. Left pastorless as the
result of the unhappy dissensions, the sobefed and saddened
congregation appointed a day of humiliation, fasting and
prayer, which was observed with great solemnity, upon the 31st
of December, 1758. The sad situation which had been created, ^^^
received significant emphasis in the inability of the Church to
induce anyone to accept the pastoral care of so unruly a flock.
In 1753 Dr. Joseph Bellamy of Connecticut was called.
Extraordinary pressure was brought to bear upon him in the
effort to induce him to come to "poor New York," but the
invitation again and again repeated was steadfastly declined.
In 1754 Mr. John Rogers of Delaware was urgently besought
to occupy the pulpit. A refusal of the summons was returned
by the messenger who brought it. In 1755 the Rev. David
47
McGregore of New Hampshire was appealed to, but saw no
encouragement to adventure himself among a people at such
loggerheads among themselves. A few months later a call
was extended to the Rev. David Bostwick of Jamaica, L. I.
The Presbytery hesitated to place the call in his hands, and re-
ferred the subject to the Synod. The Synod found the ques-
tion attended with so many difficulties, that it was placed in the
hands of a Commission. After protracted debate, it was deter-
mined to issue the call to Mr. Bostwick. Upon his signifying
his inability to reach a decision, the Synodical Commission
advised him that in their judgment his path of duty led to
New York. In the late spring of 1756 he was inducted into
the pastorate. The result justified expectation. Gifted,
trained, consecrated, he exercised from the start a command-
ing influence. A popular preacher, a wise counsellor and an
effective administrator regained the Church's prestige, and
won for it and for himself a high standing in the community.
Early in his ministry the little troop of those who were out
of tune on account of the Psalmody withdrew, and, securing
the services of Dr. John Mason, organized the Scotch Church.
This division of forces proved a real reinforcement of the
Presbyterian order. By this move, the clash of cliques, whose
collisions had shaken as with an earthquake the foundations
of the Church, came to an end. The stability and harmony
of the parent Church was assured, while a second company
of adherents to the Presbyterian faith and order moved out
upon a new line of development.
The pulpit ability of Mr. Bostwick is witnessed to by many
who listened to his preaching. President Davies of Nassau
Hall asserted "He has, I think, the best style extempore of
any man I ever heard." William Smith, the historian of Old
New York, a member of his congregation, writes in glowing
terms: "Of mild and Catholic disposition, with prudence and
zeal, he confines himself entirely to the proper business of his
function. In the art of preaching he is one of the most distin-
guished clergymen in these parts. His discourses are method-
ical, sound, pathetic in sentiment, in point of diction singularly
ornamented. He delivers himself without notes, and yet with
48
great ease and fluency of expression, and performs every part
of divine worship with a striking solemnity." The native
strength of his character which gave its dynamic influence to
his gentle and tactful dealing with delicate questions, and those
"unreasonable men" (whose forebears were such a vexation
of spirit to St. Paul in the Thessalonian Church) shines out
in his decision to remain at his post while a scourge of small-
pox was raging in the city. "I had rather die in the way of
duty," he said, "than save my life by running out of it."
The health of Mr. Bostwick becoming seriously impaired,
the Rev. Joseph Treat of the Presbytery of New Brunswick
was invited to become his colleague. In November, 1763, Mr.
Bostwick died in the forty-fourth year of his age, in the quaint
phrase of that time, "being remarkably supported."
The congregation which had now become large and influen-
tial, once more called the Rev. John Rodgers to undertake its
pastoral care. This summons he was induced to accept, and
removed from Newcastle. Delaware, to New York City, in the
summer of 1765. On the fourth of September in that year
he was inducted into the pastorate of the First Church. The
John Rodgers burned at the stake in Smithfield market and
immortalized in the New England Primer, was his ancestor.
Born in Boston, of parents who had emigrated to America
from Londonderry, he spent his youth and early manhood in
Philadelphia, reaching New York by way of Newcastle, Dela-
ware. The sturdiness of the Scotch-Irish, the intelligence of
the New Englander, the breadth and humanity of the colony
of William Penn, combined to endow his character with a
blend of winsomeness, dignity and force. In his boyhood the
hand of George Whitfield led him to the cross. The inter-
weaving of Whitfield's life with the life of the First Church
is of singular interest. To his vitalizing presence was due the
lifting of the shadows which lowered so heavily during its
earlier years and menaced so seriously its continuance.
Through his instrumentality was given to it the most influ-
ential of its leaders, the man who made the deepest impress
upon the religious life of the City in his time, and who will
remain to all time an outstanding figure in the annals of Chris-
49
tianity in New York. At an out-door meeting, which Whit-
field addressed from the steps of the Court House on Market
Street, Philadelphia, a boy stood near him holding a lantern
for his accommodation. As he listened he became absorbed,
impressed, agitated, until, forgetful of his task, the lantern
dropped from his hand and was dashed to pieces. That twelve
year old lad was John Rodgers. The message of the preacher
so dominated him that he there and then consecrated himself
to the service of Christ, and to life's end, with a steady and
unfailing hand, he held high the shining lamp of a glowing wit-
ness to Him who is the Saviour of the world.
After his successful novitiate in Newcastle, he came to
his City Parish in the prime of his young manhood. From
the moment of his entrance upon this responsible service,
the Church began to tingle with the pulse of a new vigor.
Congregations enlarged. Conversions multiplied. Spirituality
developed. Character was schooled. Problems were solved.
High ideals of life were created. Large visions of work awak-
ened. Loyalty to historic faith, with generous hospitality to-
ward the religious views of others, was the keynote of this
ministry. Upon one occasion when requested by his church
officers to preach against the errors of a particular sect, and to
warn his people against them, Rodgers characteristically re-
plied :
"Brethren you must excuse me. I cannot reconcile it with
my sense either of policy or duty to oppose these people from
the pulpit otherwise than by preaching the truth plainly and
faithfully. I believe them to be in error, but let us outpreach
them, outpray them and outlive them, and we need not fear."
Not only did the First Church under such leadership win
an honored and influential place in the growing municipality,
but upon the destiny of the country at large she began to
exert a marked and beneficial efifect. The Revolution was
just at hand and in precipitating that movement for the liberty
of America, and in giving it the impulse which brought it to
a triumphant close, this Church played no small part. The
same quenchless love of freedom which resented the en-
croachments of ecclesiastical domination, arrayed the Presby-
50
terians against the tyranny of the state and kindled the fires
upon the altar of patriotism.
Upon the rolls of the First Church were the names of the
leading spirits among New York patriots. Its Pastor was
marked as "an early and decided friend of American Inde-
pendence" and there was at least one Tory protest filed against
the ardor of his prayers for the Independence of the Colonies,
and the success of the American Revolution. In 1752 a Club
was formed to resist the aggressions of the throne. Three
men became conspicuous as its leaders and being affiliated
with the Presbyterian Church have gone down to history as
the "Presbyterian Triumvirate." A loyalist historian of the
day finds in the fact of their Presbyterianism, the only pos-
sible explanation of their arraying themselves upon the side
of what to him was "anarchy and confusion." Following the
Stamp Act the Society known as the Sons of Liberty was
organized and from the faith of its members became popularly
known as "The Presbyterian Junto." Some two score dele-
gates were appointed to attend the Provincial Congress. Of
this number the name of Livingston is on our Communion sil-
ver; that of Broome upOn the wall beside the pulpit; that of
McDougal, upon the tablet near the door; that of Smith, upon
the register of membership.
At the time of the Revolution the Church building upon
Wall Street was used by the British soldiery as barracks and
riding school. The British soldiery paid Presbyterianism the
compliment of recognizing the devotion of the members of that
persuasion to the cause of civil and religious liberty by defacing
and wantonly destroying their church property, while the
church holdings of other denominations were scarcely inter-
fered with.
As a citizen the Pastor of the First Church exercised a
controlling influence upon public affairs. Social distinction
came to him as inevitably as iron to the magnet. In the
counsels of the Presbyterian Church throughout the land he
rose to a commanding position. Early chosen a Trustee of
Princeton College, he became the bosom companion of John
Witherspoon, its distinguished President, whose burning
51
words swung the scale when the Continental Congress de-
bated issuing the Declaration of Independence. Before the
war of the Revolution he was recognized throughout the
Colonies as a mouthpiece of patriotism. During the struggle
he was the intimate friend and confidential correspondent of
General Washington. As Chaplain of Heath's Brigade he
served in the line of the Continental Army. The station of
his military charge was near the site of the old brewery build-
ing which has just been removed from the corner of Seventh
Avenue and 11th Street. The detachment was quartered in
a near-by grove, a locality marked by the present Grove Street.
"There," said Rodgers, 'T held my church for the entire sum-
mer," little foreseeing that his City charge would in the after
time erect its present home in such close proximity that had it
been standing there at that time its bell notes might have been
heard among the tents. The vicissitudes of the Revolution
drove him from place to place. Wherever he went he
preached. Many towns heard his ringing message and cherish
grateful memories of his unique personality. Following the
record of a Session Meeting held December 11th, 1775, is ap-
pended the following note: "N. B. The Congregation was
dispersed during the Summer following this date, by the late
War, and was not collected again till the Autumn of 1783,
when Dr. Rodgers and a considerable number of the Con-
gregation returned after the Evacuation of the City by the
British Troops which took place on the 25th day of Novem-
ber that year."
At the heels of the retreating British came the scattered
Presbyterians, regathering. As the King's troops marched out
of the town. Dr. Rodgers and his band of patriotic Church folks
marched back to their posts.
Circumstances having delayed the return to New York of
Rodger's colleague, the Rev. Dr. Treat, the long exiled con-
gregation at its reassembling adopted the following rather pithy
resolutions of reorganisation :
"Resolved, that this congregation can support but one min-
ister.
52
"Resolved, that the Reverend Doctor Rodgers be that min-
ister.
"Resolved, that a committee be appointed to apply to the
moderator of the Presbytery, and request him to call a meet-
ing of that body as soon as convenient, that we may apply
in a regular manner for the liberation of this congregation
from the Reverend Mr. Treat as one of our ministers."
John Rodgers vi^as the Napoleon of New York Presbyterians.
It was he who marshalled its forces, led its advance, won its
triumph, and endowed it with a prestige which it has never
lost. The degree of Doctor of Divinity came to him from the
other side of the Atlantic. At the request of Benjamin Frank-
lin, who was then in London, the Provost of the University of
Edinburgh brought the matter to the attention of its Regents
and the unusual and notable honor was conferred. Sig-
nal as was the distinction of being crowned with this dig-
nity by a foreign university, it was almost as unique a fact
that its bestowal should have been solicited by Benjamin
Franklin, who was not in the habit of burning incense before
theologians. That the American Socrates should have stood
sponsor for the Pastor of the First Church, is quite as illum-
inating a testimonial to the broad and forceful humanity of
Rodgers, as was the Edinburgh diploma to his distinction in
scholarship. An incidental reference to him from the pen of
Washington Irving is quite as revealing, in picturing him as his
father's pastor, moving among his fellows with an innate maj-
esty of bearing, clad in garments "invariably neat, elegant, and
spotless" and recalling as unforgettable "his silver mounted
cane and well polished shoes with silver buckles." Of his
home life it is recorded "he lives in elegant style and enter-
tains company as genteely as the first gentleman in the City."
If credentials of his social eminence were required, they are
found in the fact that his name appears upon "Mrs. Jay's
Dinner and Supper List," which was the Roster of Respecta-
bility for the city of that day. During the half century in
which he administered the spiritual affairs of this people, there
was no more commanding figure, no more influential factor
53
in New York life, than the brave, genial, learned, patriotic,
spiritual John Rodgers.
The Commonwealth recognized his genius for leadership.
The first Convention for the formation of a Constitution sum-
moned him to its Chaplaincy. The Committee of Seven into
which the Convention merged, and the Legislature of the newly
created State of New York which was ultimately created, in-
vested him with similar honor.
The First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in-
vited him to sit in the Moderator's Chair. In every subsequent
movement toward the development of its ecclesiastical organiza-
tion in the plans for its work, in the formation and definition
of its standards, his influence was a prime factor.*
Church after Church was organized in the City under his
superintendency. At one time, under the collegiate system, he
presided over three as Pastor. When, heavy with years, the last
public act of his life was the laying of the corner-stone of the
Spring Street Church, the outgrowth of a mission Sunday
School from the parent church in Wall Street. This was the
sixth Church of the Presbyterian order, of which he had been
the master builder.
During the long service of Dr. Rodgers, a colony from the
Wall Street Church in 1768 hived at Beekman Street, and
founded a Collegiate Church. It was the eldest child of the
Old First Church. From the material of its building it was
styled the Brick Church, which title it has cherished until this
day. By its service to the community and its unswerving and
effective stand for the things that are most excellent, it has
made the "Brick" to stand as symbol for all that is costly,
splendid and enduring in character building. A second col-
onization occurred in 1789 upon a site donated by Henry Rut-
gers, whose generosity has been perpetuated throughout the
years in the title of the Rutgers Presbyterian Church,
now established at 72nd Street and Broadway. With some
* In this connection, it is with pardonable satisfaction I note that
constantly associated with Dr. Rodger's (in apostolic succession to
whom it is my happy lot to serve as a spiritual descendant) is found
the name of my lineal ancestor, Rev. Dr. George Duffield.
54
modification of the collegiate system, the pastorate of this
organization was administered by the Rev. Dr. Philip Mille-
doler, under whose ministry it gained the largest church mem-
bership in the United States. In 1807 a further colonization
took place. Originally established upon Cedar Street, it mi-
grated to Fifth Avenue at 19th Street, and has since been
borne by the tide up Fifth Avenue to 55th Street. The
Collegiate arrangement under which until to this time the Pres-
byterian Churches of the city had been organized and operated,
created conditions which pastors and people alike found incon-
venient and irksome. The formation of the Cedar Street
Church became the occasion for the breaking up of this ar-
rangement, which Dr. Miller describes as "so long established
and so highly mischievous in the Presbyterian Church of New
York."
Subsequent to the Revolution three colleagues served with
Dr. Rodgers in the Pastorate. The Rev. James Wilson, a
licentiate from Scotland, after searching probationary tests
continued during a period of several months, was ordained
and installed as collegiate pastor in 1785. The service he
rendered was acceptable, but at the end of three years, the
briefest ministry in the Church's history, failing health com-
pelled his resignation. His successor was the Rev. John
McKnight, a member of the Presbytery of Carlisle, who was
installed 1789. For twenty years he discharged the duties of
his office with conspicuous ability. In 1793 a third colleague
was added to the pastoral staff, one whose equally forceful
handling of his responsibilities as a metropolitan pastor and
later as Professor in Princeton Theological Seminary, has
written his name large in the chronicle of American Pres-
byterianism.
If Rodgers was the Napoleon, Samuel Miller was the Wash-
ington Irving of New York Presbyterianism. The peculiar
charm which clothed that man of letters dwelt in marked de-
gree with the First Church pastor. Young and magnetic,
scholarly and spiritual, gentle and forceful, he was atmos-
phered with that distinction which is the hall-mark of
high breeding. The eloquence of his speech and of his life
55
alike commanded admiration and won affection. In all the
notable scenes of his time his figure appears. In shaping the
course of affairs his voice was continually heard. In 1809
the Historical Society celebrates the Two Hundredth Anni-
versary of the discovery of the Island by Hendrick Hudson.
At that Bi-Centennial the Old First Church was, through its
Pastor, almost as prominent as it is at this one. On behalf of
the municipality, Dr. Miller delivered the Anniversary Address
in the Court Room of the City Hall, before a brilliant and
representative audience, including the Governor of New York
and the leaders of the commercial, intellectual, and social world.
A movement to establish Free Schools throughout the city is
launched and Dr. Miller's name is high among the list of the
incorporators. The Bible Society is born, his Presbyterian
hands helped to rock the cradle. Tammany Hall in those Days
went to Church, and more than one sermon was delivered
before them by Dr. Miller. It is to be feared that though he
piped unto them, they did not dance. Had his words been
heeded as sedulously as they were needed, Tammany Hall
might have become an academy of political purity instead of —
what it is now supposed to be. When the Theological Semi-
nary was founded at Princeton, Dr. Miller was selected as one
of the foster fathers who should mould the infancy of this most
important institution. Reluctantly he relinquished the pulpit
for the desk and became co-professor with Archibald Alex-
ander. One-half of the first faculty of Princeton Seminary
was furnished by the Old First Church.
The opening of the Erie Canal is one of the outstanding
events in the City's history. In its day it seemed more mo-
mentous than the cutting of the Island of Panama in ours.
The wedding of the lakes and the seas, "our Mediterraneans
with our Atlantic" as De Witt Clinton phrased it, marked the
beginning of modern New York. The resulting municipal
development exceeded anticipation. Business increased by
bounds. The roofs of the city rose into the air. Buildings
went .skyward, from four stories to fourteen. The streets of
the City swept northward and remote frontiers became trans-
ferred into residential sections. As these new energies began
56
THE riEV/ YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTQR, LENOX
iLDi:N POUNDaTIONS
to play through the life of the community, Dr. William Wirt
Phillips came into charge of the First Church. The tidal wave
of life then surging through the City is marked by the removal
of the Church from Wall Street to the location where it now
stands. After the Revolution the Church had been repaired, at
a large expense, in the year 1784. During the time of the re-
building, the congregation worshipped in old St. George's and
St. Paul's, which were offered to them by the courtesy of
Trinity Parish. The sermon which Dr. Rodgers preached
upon "The Display of God's Goodness in the Revolutionary
War" was delivered from the pulpit of old St. George's
Church. In 1809 it became necessary to still further enlarge
and enrich the Church building, and during Dr. Miller's associ-
ate pastorate with Dr. Rodgers, this was accomplished. From
December, 1809, until August 11th, 1811, the Church wor-
shipped in the French Huguenot Church, which was then upon
Pine Street. The first movement of the Church from Wall
Street to its present location was suggested by Presbytery, who
deemed it wise that this Church of unique eminence should
leave the more crowded regions of the lower city and occupy
a frontier post on Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. The corner-
stone was laid in 1844. The contract for the new building
was let July 4th, 1844, a date of happy augury, memorializing
that spirit of ardent patriotism for which this Church has al-
ways been characteristically conspicuous, and marking this
building as a school of loyalty as well as theology. The goodly
edifice which we now occupy was entered and dedicated on
January 11, 1846. The title of Dr. Phillips' sermon upon that
day might fitly be given to the building itself — "A Memorial
of the Goodness of God." The architecture of the Church is
not only worshipful in its suggestions, but possesses an elo-
quent significance. The tower is a copy of the Magdalen
Tower at Oxford, while the body of the building is a replica of
the Church of St. Saviour at Bath. The "Old First" Church,
is a Gospel in stone, uplifting a signal to the sinful which
beckons them to a holy Saviour who is waiting to redeem them.
The Church building is the message of its pulpit made visible.
The wisdom which selected the strategic spot for the abiding
place of the Old First Church, and the sense of beauty and
57
dignity which dictated its architectural style and construction,
have been emphatically endorsed by the witness of the suc-
ceeding years. In a sermon delivered in the Cathedral Church
of St. John the Divine, in New York City, upon the occasion
of the consecration of the Nave, Sunday, October 1, 1911, the
Rev. Dr. Grosvenor, Dean of the Cathedral, uttered the fol-
lowing significant sentence :
"Some years ago I asked Bishop Satterlee a question which
I have often asked myself, concerning site and architecture.
If we were obliged to destroy every church in the city of New
York but six or seven, which churches would we save? My
list would be this : St. Paul's Chapel, Trinity, Grace, The First
Presbyterian, St. Patrick's and St. John the Divine, and I am
sure we will include the new church being built for St. Thomas
Parish. I believe that a hundred years from now they will
still be standing." *
♦ Miss Helen Marshall Pratt, who speaks with authority concerning
the spirit and achievement of Cathedral Architecture on both sides of
the sea, wrote as follows in "The Churchman," November 20th, 1915 :
"The First Presbyterian Church in its green enclosure, larger than,
almost any of our city churches, with its fine hedge, its exuberant ivy
extending well up to the pinnacles ; its noble beech tree and, over all,
its lovely tower, is one of the most beautiful church pictures in the
city. The parish house, lately added, is in the same general style of
architecture and groups well with such fine old houses as remain in
this once popular residential section, and with the Church of the
Ascension, one block below.
"As at Trinity, the exterior presents more interesting features for
the study of fifteenth century Gothic than the interior. The building
is rectangular, like Trinity: it measures 119 feet in length, and 85 in
width; its roof is high pitched; the windows are unusually handsome,
being wide and lofty, with elaborately traceried heads and transoms :
the former having the perpendicular line which marks its date ; and a
parapet on the roof of open stone-work. The beautiful tower at the
west front at once attracts attention by its graceful yet impressive pro-
portions, its fine traceried windows, especially those of the stage below
the top, its battlemented parapet, ogee-arched doorways and lofty
pinnacles. It was modelled after the famous Magdalen Tower at
Oxford, which was built under Cardinal Wolsey's direction while he
was bursar, and the ivy came from this same college, a gift to the
wife of the present pastor, Dr. Howard Dufifield.
58
The City life unfolded not alone along commercial lines.
The community throbbed with the stir of a new intellectual
energy. Bryant called into being "The Evening Post." The
merchants of the town founding a reading room for their
clerks, planted the seed of the Mercantile Library. The Uni-
versity of the City erected its stately buildings upon the East
side of Washington Square. Union Seminary sprang to life
on University Place. All these harbingers of metropolitan
renaissance clustered within sight of the tower of the new
Church, and were within the sound of its bell. Amid the stir
of such impulses and under the stimulus of such forces, Phil-
lips wrought his noble ministry for forty years.
William Wirt Phillips was a man whose commanding pres-
ence fitly indicated his large spiritual endowment. He ably
maintained the preeminence of the First Church at the fore-
front of American Presbyterianism. He was Moderator of
the General Assembly. He played a conspicuous part in the
organization and control of the various Boards of Home Mis-
sions, Foreign Missions and Publication. He was Trustee and
Director of the Seminary at Princeton, and Trustee of its
sister institution, the University. His noble pastorate spanned
two generations. For years, from 1826 to 1865, he ministered
to its people, and imparted to its life the imperishable impress
of his consecrated character.
"To bulwark this fine stone building there are deep stone buttresses
standing against the church walls and against the angles of the tower,
in three stages with set-offs and crowned by pinnacles a thought too
tall, perhaps, but richly ornamented with crockets and finials.
"Within, the eye is less gratified. Here the architect met his diffi-
cult problem of avoiding great supporting columns by frankly throwing
a wide, awkward vault over the entire width, which though wide and
uninteresting as to proportions and adaptability, preserves some good
Gothic traditions, for here is a ridge rib extending, without interfer-
ence, from east to west, the entire length of the church, and from it
hang stone pendants, recalling those glorious stone pendant lanterns in
the fan vaults of Henry VH.'s chapel at Westminster and in the Ox-
ford cathedral choir. Notice also, in the interior, the two ranges of
noble windows and the carved wood arcade along the walls under the
windows, reminiscent of numerous Gothic arcades in mediaeval cathe-
drals."
59
Upon the mural tablet which commemorates his ministry
his life story is vividly outlined in the following inscription:
"In walk and conversation blameless ; in word and doctrine
tenacious of the truth ; in exortation earnest and in prayer
fervent; in holy labors abundant, he so discharged the sacred
office of Pastor and teacher, that, revered in life, he was la-
mented in death by the people of his charge, who here record
their admiration of the simplicity and godly sincerity which
adorned his character, while rendering their thanks to God
for the long career of eminent usefulness by which His faithful
servant illustrated, in the Church and before the world, the
power of divine grace and the beauty of holiness."
Those who succeeded to the pastoral office wore with grace
the mantle of their predecessors, and like them trod the uplands
of life. Philip Melancthon Whelpley strikingly reflected the
blended grace and strength which were such conspicuous traits
of the great Reformer whose name he bore. His sun went
down at mid-day. A ministry of shining promise was cut
short by death, but during its brief years he made an influen-
tial contribution to the spiritual life of the community.
William Miller Paxton, dowered with rare literary gifts,
with great executive capacity, with disciplined pulpit power,
came to the First Church after having achieved an enviable rep-
utation for scholarship and pulpit power in Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania. His pastorate lasted for eighteen years. At the
First Pan-Presbyterian Council, held in Edinburgh, he was a
representative of American Presbyterianism. When the Coun-
cil met in the Academy of Music at Philadelphia, as its Presi-
dent he opened the proceedings with an oration of memorable
power. He administered with ability the Presidency of the
Board of Foreign Missions. He occupied the Chair of Mod-
erator, of the General Assembly. He sat at the Trustee Board
of Princeton University. With grace and force he wore the
dignity of the Senior Professorship in Princeton Seminary.
Richard Davenport Harlan came to the pulpit from the
Seminary class room, crowned with academic honors. To the
solution of the serious problems which had arisen in connec-
60
tion with the church Hfe, he brought a talented mind and a
vigorous personality. During his brief pastorate the Church
was enriched with its superb organ and the plans for a Chapel
building were inaugurated. He has left a gracious memory
in the hearts of those to whom he ministered, and those who
have never looked upon his face and scarce know his name, yet
feel the lasting touch of his influence as their spirits respond
to the helping and haunting voices of the organ. After a stay
in New York of four years, Mr. Harlan accepted a call to
Rochester.
Thus we come to the Present Day. That Day is twenty-five
years long. Like the days of God in Genesis, the evening came
before the morning. It began in shadow and it has closed in
light. A quarter of a century ago we faced empty pews, a
depleted exchequer, an organization paralyzed, a congregation
devitalized. The historic glory of this ancient institution
seemed sinking to its setting. It is never to be forgotten that
in this hour of its helplessness the Old First Church was sus-
tained in being and tided over the most critical period of its
existence by the unstinted liberality of Miss Rachel Lenox
Kennedy, who, almost single handed, lifted its financial bur-
dens with a noble generosity, only equalled by her undaunted
courage and her unshaken faith in the Church's future. The
clouds that threatened dissolution were gathering thick
and hanging low around these venerable towers and bat-
tlements. To-day, we behold a goodly company of
loyal and enthusiastic hearts, of skilful and unwearied
hands, a Church open every day of the year, alight every
night of the year, the Chapel too small to house its activities,
its ministry touching every want of the myriad sided life of
the surrounding community, and so rooted and rivetted to its
historic abiding place that our children and our children's chil-
dren shall continue to praise God and do His work on this
very spot, made holy by the prayers and the sacrifices of so
many generations. That change came to us as a great change
came to Louis Stevenson, who wrote that when his life swung
round from drifting upon the rocks, to sailing over the charted
seas, "I came about like a well handled ship. There stood at
61
the wheel that unknown steersman whom we call God." That
same hand was upon the helm of this Church. That same
steersman shaped our course. But our Pilot is not unknown.
It was He who once before led His helpless flock on a miracle
march through the desert ; refreshed His fainting children with
water from the rock ; made the feeble to triumph over mighty
foes ; and guided them across death shadowed wastes in cloud
by day and fire by night, until He brought them, radiant and
triumphant, into a land teeming with the harvests of promise.
The benefits which now so enrich and ennoble this Church
of our love have been purchased with a great price. God
worked out His plans for this Church through the surrendered
lives of those to whom the Church's welfare was dearer than
their own. Its present prosperity represents struggle and
heartache and tears ; a quenchless hope, that could grope its
way to the dawn through the blackness of midnight. That
our children after us and their children after them might
worship in this holy house where through the long years our
father's honored the name of the Most High God, life has
been poured out as a libation. Those who have been heart to
heart through these years of struggle, know that words are too
weak to tell the whole of that story. Those who have not felt
the intensity of that strain would not grasp the full meaning
of the story, even if it could be told. The pressure of this
long endeavor has been baptized with the sacrifice and devo-
tion of her children. Its very stones are unspeakably dear
to me. Its every member is cherished in my inmost heart.
To take part in its services is the sweet and supreme priv-
ilege of my life. To promote its welfare is the crown of my
ambition.
"For her my tears shall fall
For her my prayers ascend
To her my care and toil be given
'Til toils and cares shall end."
For twenty-five years no Sabbath has found the door of this
Church closed, nor its pulpit silent. The Bible School has
known no interregnum. Every Wednesday night longing
hearts and wearied spirits have come together seeking escape
62
from the wear and tear of the things of time, and yearning for
the touch and vision of the eternal. The purchase of the Manse
on the north and the erection of the Chapel on the south, like
the flukes of a mighty anchor, gripped the ground with a guar-
antee that the hold of the church upon its historic site would
never be relaxed. Carl was discovered and captured, and be-
gan that noble work of musical development which has so
enriched the service of the Church, and added to the power
of its ministry. The windows of stained glass one by one
were blazoned upon the Church walls. The floor was paved
with beautiful and enduring marble. The chimes of West-
minster pealed out from the tower, symbolizing the proclama-
tion of the ancient truth in sweet and present day tones. The
glow of new lights flooded the Church, betokening the passing
of the shadows and the advent of an unclouded dawn. One
thousand three hundred and twenty-four persons enrolled for
the work of the church and the witness for the truth. Gen-
erous friends vitalized the enterprise with noble gifts. ' Per-
manent financial foundations were laid. All lent a hand to
the work. Through weary, hopeless years many gave gifts
which, numerically small, were beyond all price. That list
of names upon the subscription books stirs deepest emo-
tion. The full history of that effort will never be known
until "The leaves of the judgment book unfold." All the
Societies concentrated upon this effort. The whole member-
ship bent its energy to this end. Persons struggling to live,
struggled harder that they might give. Some sacrificed daily
comfort. Some cut down their meals. Some scrimped their
dress. Little children gave pennies. A vast total of littles has
gone to stay the Church upon its foundations, that when
the books of God are opened will be found to have had a deci-
sive potency in securing the triumphant result. That money
was the visible token of forces which money cannot buy, and
without which money is paltry — faith in God, trust in His prom-
ises, devotion to His service and the supreme passion of self
sacrifice. Yesterday bankruptcy stared the Church in the face.
To-day a permanent fund has been accumulated which yields an
annual income of more than twenty thousand dollars.
63
Upon its corporate seal the Church is emblemed as the ark,
tossed with the tempest, but grounded upon the mountain top,
while from the rifted heavens descends the dove bearing a
branch of olive, God's blessed messenger of light and peace.
Those who fashioned the device drew a picture from their own
experience. Unwittingly they prefigured that great and nota-
ble deliverance of the Church, which came but yesterday. In
the hour when night was darkest, when every star was hid,
when the radiant face of hope was veiled, when the fainting
heart of faith beat low, God said, "Let there be light." That
honored and beloved servant of His, whose name, written in
your hearts, needs no mention from my lips, imbued with His
spirit, rejoicing to do His work, listening to the challenge of
the dire necessity and beckoned by a vision of the glorious
possibility, as truly an angel of the Most High God as though
she had come radiant from His presence chamber, spoke the
word and wrought the deed, which saved this Church. (For
the sake of those who read this record in the after time it is
proper to state that this reference is to Mrs. D. Willis James —
who sharing the feeling and executing the purpose of her hon-
ored husband, by her rare and marvellous liberality, estab-
lished the Old First Church upon abiding foundations.) The
shadows fled away. Prayers changed to praises. Sighing
gave place to Alleluias. Words fail. That experience baffles
speech. "Jehovah Jireh !" The Lord did provide. Life, sur-
charged with spiritual enthusiasm, with unsparing unfailing
devotion to Him who wrought this miracle of deliverance, can
alone expresses what all hearts experienced in that hour of
wonder.
Within sight of the Old First Doorstep upon the Washing-
ton Arch is carved this inscription : "Let us raise a standard to
which the wise and honest can repair ; the event is in the hands
of God." Long ago the Old First set up the standard of "The
Open Door and the Open Heart" to mark a spot to which all
kinds and conditions of people could repair, to get good and
to do good. More than fifteen hundred persons now come to
her services weekly, in addition to the many who seek her
shelter daily for rest and prayer. The sole reason for persist-
64
ing in the almost hopeless struggle to secure endowment for the
Old First Church was the desire to have it neighbor to the need-
iest. Now it is anchored in just such a place. It abides among
the people. It sympathizes with the people. It works for the
people. Its buildings, its music, its schools, its clubs, its mes-
sage of hope, its ministry of help, all it has — is free to all. It
extends the Glad Hand to all. It is trying to create the Glad
Heart in all. It holds a strategic point. It stands upon one
of the greatest arteries of the intense life of America's chief
metropolis. It occupies a vast open space, and cannot be blank-
eted by sky scrapers. The infinite variety of the population
which throngs about its walls invites every variety of progres-
sive, highly developed church work. As a vantage ground
for bringing the old Gospel into direct and practical contact
with the latest problems of human life, it is almost without a
rival. The splendid possibilities of its ministry have been dem-
onstrated by the development in these later days of efficient
service along every line of modern church enterprise. It is in
commission every day of every week. Summer and winter its
services are held without interruption. Every class of the com-
munity is within reach of its ministrations. Services in any
spoken language could secure a congregation within its walls.
A potential Pentecost lies within its environment. Ministers
from all over the land might be brought into residence here,
who would find it a unique spot from which to utter their mes-
sage, and in which to study and to state the problems of our
day in their acutest form. The neighborhood is dense with
souls and the population is increasing. The Church is at the
heart of an immense boarding house district. The need for
work and the opportunities for work are steadily multi-
plying. No Church offers a more inspiring opportunity for
service to the Lord's workers, nor a more fascinating opportu-
nity for investment to the Lord's stewards, than the Old First
Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, old in its years,
but with undying youth in its heart.
With two centuries looking down upon her, she is girding
herself for her present day mission with old time vigor. The
challenge of new difficulties is to her an invitation to fresh tri-
65
umphs. The tides of business may beat about her, but they
cannot sway her. She is anchored where she is by fideUty to
the King's business. Populations may shift. Her ministry
is for every sort of population. Her doors are never shut and
open-handed Hospitality dwells within her walls. There, is
ever to be found the ministry of Help ; and there, is ever to be
heard the message of Hope. Thrilling with the memories of
that long and shining pathway over which her Lord has led
her, she is ardently pressing out along the new lines of service
upon which the banners of His providence are moving. She
covets to stand in her lot so long as the City itself shall endure,
to tell in simple phrase that "old old story," which is ever new,
and with a wise and unwearied effort to bring to increasing
numbers of those who are stained and wounded by the fierce
stress of metropolitan life, the healing benediction of Him who
"went about doing good."
Then was sung the Hymn : "The Church's one Foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord."
The Closing Prayer and the Benediction were pronounced
By the Reverend Doctor Charles Augustus Stoddard
"O God, the Giver of all good gifts, we thank Thee for this
day of feasting. Thou hast given us fat things full of mar-
row and wine upon the lees well refined — a rehearsal of bless-
ings that have grown up out of the sacrifice and service of
many years, and a consummation in this present time of pros-
perity and progress and joy. For all these mercies we are
indebted to Thee, the Giver of all good things. Continue Thy
blessings upon this Church, we earnestly pray Thee, this ancient
Church, so thoroughly and securely founded, so faithfully and
steadfastly built up, and so ready to stretch out its useful
hands to bless the City where it is established.
"O God we thank Thee for that steadfastness in the faith
which has here been manifested, for the fulfilment of Thy
promises which we have had placed before us; and now grant
us we beseech Thee continued blessing, and give strength and
faith and hope and purpose to Thy servant, and to those who
are associated with him here, in maintaining the truth of God
66
and the gospel of the Blessed Savior of mankind. And grant,
O Lord, that the service of this day and the memorial services
that shall continue through the week, may deepen the impres-
sion that has been made by this Anniversary. Grant we be-
seech Thee that this influence may go out through all the Pres-
byterian Church to induce a steadfastness in faith and sacrifice
and devotion to principle and to God.
"And now may the blessing of God the Father and God the
Son and God the Holy Ghost abide upon and remain with us
all evermore. Amen.
>>
67
COMMEMORATION DAY
Sunday, December the Third, 1917, 8 P. M.
The Evening Service
The special purpose of the Evening Service vi^as to commem-
orate the long line of faithful and illustrious men who had
served in the pastorate of the Old First Church.
The Clergy who were to participate in this Service met in
the Pastor's Room at fifteen minutes before eight o'clock. In
addition to the Reverend Doctor Harlan, who was to preside,
there were present the Reverend Doctor Marquis, Moderator
of the General Assembly, the Reverend Doctor Roberts, Stated
Clerk of the General Assembly, who was to deliver the Com-
memoration Address, the Reverend Doctor George Alexander,
of the University Place Church, who was to offer the Commem-
oration Prayer, and the Reverend Doctor Franklin B. Dwight,
who was to conduct the Devotional Exercises. At the Service
Hour they entered the Church in procession through the Chapel
Door and passed to their places in the Pulpit.
A selection from Gounod's Oratorio of "The Redemption,"
"How Lovely are the Messengers," was sung by the Choir.
The Salutation was read by the Pastor.
The Invocation was offered
By the Reverend Doctor Franklin B. Dwight :
"Almighty and Ever-gracious God, our Merciful Heavenly
Father, we would enter into Thy gates with thanksgiving and
into Thy courts with praise. We would be thankful unto
Thee and bless Thy name for Thou art mindful of all, and
Thy tender mercies are over all Thy works.
"Accept we beseech Thee, our sacrifice of praise and prayer
and thanksgiving. Make us conscious of Thy presence in Thy
Church, and of Thy love which is ever around about Thy
68
people. Strengthen us more and more for Thy service and
help us to do Thy will, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven ;
give us this day our daily bread ; and forgive us our tres-
passes as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead
•us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for Thine is
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
The Eleventh Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews was
then read as a Scripture Lesson
By the Reverend Doctor Franklin B. Dwight,
A Word of Greeting was then spoken
By the Reverend Doctor Richard Davenport Harlan
Minister of the Old First Church 1886-1890
Just how much the members of the "Old First" Church of
1916, and the distinguished Pastor who has just rounded out
his strenuous and effective twenty-five years of service to this
parish, are to be congratulated, as compared with the First
Church of 1886 (when his predecessor was ordained and be-
gan his pastorate here), is perhaps better known to him who
now speaks to you than to any one else in this audience to-
night.
The great work which your Pastor has accomplished during
his quarter-century of service, and the present stability of the
"Old First" Church, can best be measured by a few facts in
regard to its unstable condition and uncertain future in 1886 —
the year which marked the end of a regime during which this
Church had been absolutely dependent upon the generosity of
a few devoted families to whom God had given great wealth,
and which in 1886 were represented by a small and steadily
diminishing group of elderly people who at that time were near
their journey's end and who were to leave no descendants in
the parish to take their place, after the older generation fell
asleep.
Dr. Duffield's predecessor — who came to this field a fledg-
ling from Princeton Seminary — found it necessary, two or three
years after he had put his hand to the plow, to examine care-
69
fully into the financial condition and outlook of the parish. To
his dismay he learned that the regular pew rentals (amount-
ing to less than $4,000) were considerably less than one-half
of the expenses ; and that, for many years previous to 1886,
the huge annual deficit (amounting to $8,000 or $9,000) had
been privately subscribed each year by six or seven devoted
people, whom God had blessed with an abundance of this
world's goods.
The generosity of that small group was magnificent, but
such a method of church support was most undemocratic and
demoralizing. During the transition pastorate of five years
which lay between the old regime (which closed with Dr. Pax-
ton's pastorate) and Dr. Duffield's call to this Church, among
the things accomplished the one which gave Dr. Duffield's
predecessor the greatest satisfaction was the inauguration of
a modern and democratic method of church support, in accord-
ance with which all the members of the congregation, the
people of moderate means and even the poorest members, were
appealed to for the annual deficit. The principle of "propor-
tionate giving" became firmly established in the congregation.
Instead of six or seven privileged subscribers to the deficit,
over 100 people of all grades of income gave what was needed
each year beyond the pew rents. And I remember that dur-
ing the first year of the new plan about $2,000 of new money,
which previously had gone elsewhere, was received by the
Trustees for the support of the local church.
You and your pastor are, therefore, to be congratulated
upon the splendid strides made in this one respect, during his
pastorate; for since the system was changed, about 1890, this
old church, which is for all, has been supported by all, each
person being asked to give regularly, "according as God has
prospered him," towards the maintenance of the ordinances of
religion for themselves and their families.
In regard to the introduction of an organ in this old Church
I have been given much greater praise than I deserved. My
only part in that radical innovation was to "take off the brakes"
and let others move in the matter, as soon as all the people
70
were ready for an organ. Not once was it necessary for me to
make any appeal for its introduction, and the organ was never
even mentioned from this pulpit until the night when I bade
farewell to my congregation.
The only time I ever said anything to my people on that
subject was at a well-attended mid-week prayer meeting, which
was held in the old Lecture Room, the week after the Trustees
had voted to put in an organ. On that occasion, I told those
present that a small group of generous people of means were
doubtless ready to meet the whole expense of an organ, but
that I was sure that the rank and file of the congregation would
not be willing to give to a few people the monopoly of such a
pleasure, but that every man, woman and child in the parish
would wish to contribute, according to their means, towards the
purchase of an instrument that was to lead the common praise.
With a unanimity that was inspiring, the congregation met
their Pastor's challenge, and practically every one in the con-
gregation— young and old, poor and rich — contributed to the
organ fund.
Shortly after the mid-week meeting of our little church fam-
ily, I happened to be making an ordinary pastoral call upon
Mrs. A. B. Belknap (of blessed memory). As you know, she
was a member of that famous old Presbyterian family whose
name is immortalized in the Lenox Foundation of the Public
Library of New York and whose princely gifts are gratefully
remembered by the Mission Boards of our great church, and by
Princeton Seminary and many churches and educational institu-
tions in this and othpr lands.
Mrs. Belknap herself opened the question of the new organ
By saying:
"Mr. Harlan, I hope that we are going to put in a fine
instrument."
With a smile which I did not try to hide, I replied :
"Then I take it, Mrs. Belknap, that now that the old
Church has decided to put on the trills and frills, you
would like the. best that can be had?"
"That's just it, Mr. Harlan."
"But," said I, "such an organ will cost a great deal of
71
money. To put one in that would fit that beautiful build-
ing across the street and satisfy you will cost not less
than $11,000 or $12,000."
She said that it did not matter what it cost; that she and
her sister, Miss Maitland, would give one-fifth of all that was
needed.
One more fact in regard to the organ is worth mentioning.
The uninformed strangers who happened to be in the Church
on that epochal October morning in 1889, when the rich dia-
pason tones of that noble instrument rolled along this vaulted
ceiling for the first time, might have supposed that the organ
had been there for several decades ; for no reference whatever
to the great change which that Sunday marked in the Church's
life and methods of worship was made from this pulpit on that
occasion. The organ came "without observation," dropping
quietly into the large and helpful place which, under Dr. Carl's
masterly leadership, it has ever since filled, not only in this
parish, but in the development of Church music in this City.
And with all my heart I must also congratulate you upon the
beautiful manse and the stately Chapel and Parish House
which flank the rear of the Church on the 12th and 11th Street
sides, and which Dr. Dufifield so felicitously described this
morning as the two flukes of the anchor which helps physically
and so effectively to fix this churchly edifice to its historic site.
Throughout my own pastorate I had been much troubled by
the anomalous and infelicitous fact that we had two Sunday
Schools that were almost within a stone's throw of each other
— the Church School in the old 11th Street Chapel and a Mis-
sion School in the middle of the block, in 12th Street. I had
tried in vain to get possession of the 12th Street building so
that in time we might sell it and arrange for consolidating the
two schools in a new Chapel on the 11th Street side.
I was, therefore, greatly rejoiced to learn shortly after Dr.
Dufifield's coming that he had succeeded where I had failed,
and that, thanks to the generosity of Miss Rachel Kennedy and
the late Alexander Maitland (two of the legatees of the Lenox
Estate), the Church had secured possession of that 12th Street
building; and that the large sum for which it was then sold,
72
when added to the "Chapel Fund," which it had been my priv-
ilege to start, enabled you, in 1893, to erect the beautiful and
commodious Gothic Chapel and Parish House on the 11th
Street side, which is now such an integral part of the whole
edifice that it seems always to have been here.
I think on this "Commemoration Day" the time has come
when I owe it to the memory of three generous Christian
women, who have long ago gone to their reward, to reveal the
history of "Chapel Fund," which with the accrued interest
thereon amounted to about $30,000 by the time it came to be
used for that purpose.
Ten thousand dollars of it was given to me by Miss Henri-
etta Lenox, in the summer of 1886, within a week of the time
when she was stricken with what proved to be a fatal illness.
It was probably among the very last cheques which she signed.
When Mrs. Henry R. Withrop heard of Miss Lenox's gift,
she surprised me one day by handing me a checque for $5,000
for the "Chapel Fund." I had not asked her for any contri-
bution ; but, as was her frequent habit, she gave without being
asked. More than any person I have ever known she entered
into the beatitude conferred by St. Paul when he said "God
loveth a cheerful giver," the Greek words literally mean "a
hilarious giver." When you applied to her for a subscription
to any good cause, you never had to overcome any unwilling-
ness to part with her money. In her mind it was never a
question as to whether she would "give up" the particular sum
she was being asked to contribute ; she had already given that
money, and much more, to God, in that it had been set aside
and devoted to good works, generally. All that was left for
you to do was to convince her judgment that your cause offered
her a good investment for a portion of a fund that had already
been given, in her own mind, to God and her fellow men.
The remaining $10,000 of the original "Chapel Fund" was
given to me by a member of "The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian
Church," Mrs. Robert L. Stuart, to whom on account of the
kindly interest she- had shown in the youthful pastor of the
"Old First" Church I had ventured to describe my problems
and difficulties. But as she was wise and tactful enough to
73
fear that it might offend the pride of the people of this old
church if they ever suspected that its Pastor had appealed to a
member of Dr. John Hall's congregation for help, she exacted
of me a promise that I would not tell anyone of the source of
that large addition to my "Chapel Fund." In view of the more
than twenty-five years that have elapsed since that most wel-
come gift, I have felt that I could properly absolve myself from
that promise and pay this public tribute to the memory of a
generous and large-minded woman.
But most of all I do congratulate you, and especially your
Pastor upon what he has done for Presbyterianism in this city,
in securing the splendid endowment (now yielding an annual
income of over $20,000) by which the Mother Church of the
Presbytery is anchored to its historic site.
I rejoice with Dr. Duffield all the more, because I remember
so well the haunting anxiety with which the Trustees and
Elders and former Minister of this Church, during the transi-
tion period of which I have spoken, looked forward to the finan-
cial problem with which this parish was certain to be con-
fronted as soon as that small group of special benefactors,
already referred to, had passed away.
I had hoped and prayed that God might fire some generous
heart with a worthy ambition to win an immortality of influ-
ence through this ancient Church by putting it upon a solid
financial foundation and thus firmly establishing it in this
downtown region, so that with confidence it could undertake
large things for this neighborhood and inaugurate every pos-
sible form of Christian and philanthropic activity and thus, in
many ways and at many points, touch and uplift and sweeten
the life of this part of New York.
Never shall I forget one night, about the year 1899, when I
stood in front of the old Lenox residence, on the opposite
corner, with the late Dr. Samuel Hamilton, the pastor of the
Scotch Church which was then in 14th Street. As we were
admiring this beautiful edifice — its noble Gothic lines, its
stately tower and the wealth of green round about it, stretch-
ing across the front of an entire block on the most impmsing-
avenue of this mighty City — he said to me:
74
"The First Church ought to be strongly endowed, so that
it could be the Presbyterian Cathedral of New York, a great
Church for the masses, the busy center of Christian work
for this entire quarter of the metropolis."
The few of you here to-night who were present when I made
my farewell address from this pulpit, nearly twenty-six years
ago, will forgive me if I now repeat some of the things which
I said on that occasion.
Up to 1890 the Presbyterians of New York had not been
wise in their day and generation. Most of the churches of our
faith and order had been withdrawn from the section of the
city below 14th Street; and unless endowments were secured,
it looked more than probable that the ever-increasing demands
for business sites in this quarter would force most of our down-
town congregations unwisely to desert this neighborhood and
follow the tide of wealth to the upper end of the island.
During my pastorate here, the small group of special bene-
factors already referred to were opposed, on principle, to an
Endowment Fund for their own parish ; they feared that it
would pauperize the congregation by sapping the spirit of self-
help. I did what I could to show that such an objec-
tion did not apply to a down-town parish like this. The
difficult period of transition immediately preceding your call
to Dr. Dufifield became darker every year, because of the
inroads made by death upon that small group of special bene-
factors who were to leave no descendants or substitutes behind
them. Toward the close of my pastorate it looked for a while
as if the only thing which the office-bearers of this Church
could do would be to sell this magnificent property for the
immense sum that could have been realized from it and then
to build a great church in some quarter of the city where the
problem of church support could be easy.
Your joy, to-night, over the possession of your present En-
dowment Fund only serves, by way of contrast, to bring back
to my own memory the anguish of mind with which I contem-
plated the mere possibility of this Church being forced to follow
the line of least resistance and to find the easy solution of its
financial problems by transplanting the money value of this
75
magnificent property to a more prosperous and promising quar-
ter of the City.
I thought of the irreparable loss of tender associations in
such a dismantling of this unique temple of worship. I thought
of the dead whose precious dust still sleeps out yonder, be-
neath the greensward and under the protecting shadows of
this House of God. I thought of the unutterable pain which
such a sale of this property would give to the then members
of this parish, who with rare exception lived downtown and
from whom their Church would be taken, if this property were
sold. Although such a plan would have legally perpetuated
this historic corporation, which holds important fiduciary rela-
tions to two large public charities (The Sailors' Snug Harbor
and The Leake and Watts Orphan House), yet to transplant
the Church to an uptown site would have left you with the
mere shell of an organization, to be filled up afterwards by
strangers ; it would have been the "First Church" without the
"First Church" people.
But the psychological moment had not come when it was
possible to persuade any of that small group of special bene-
factors to furnish the necessary Endowment Fund. There-
fore, when on the night of October 3rd, 1890, I presented my
resignation to this congregation, I earnestly pled with them
not to be tempted to sell this property and move uptown, but
to follow what then seemed to be the only other way out.
Accordingly I urged them as soon as the acceptance of my res-
ignation left this pulpit vacant to invite my beloved brother,
George Alexander, who after thirty-three years is still the Pas-
tor of the University Place Church, to become my successor in
the pastorate of the "Old First" and to invite his congregation
to sell their University Place property and come over into this
Church and by that means to create at once a large and efifec-
tively organized Church, with an Endowment Fund of at least
half a million, which would have resulted from the sale of the
University Place property and the merging of their funds and
financial strength with the still undeveloped financial possi-
bilities of the First Church congregation, as it then existed.
With all my heart I rejoice with Dr. Duffield that it has
been given to him to find a way for the Old First to work
76
out its own salvation, without a merger of these two down-
town churches. My own parting advice to this congregation
was another instance of the old proverb, "Man proposes, but
God disposes.'^ I rejoice, to-night, in the thought that — by
reason of the bitter financial necessities of this parish, which
finally became evident even to those members who had been
prejudiced against the principle of endowments — Dr. Duffield
was enabled to reap such a goodly harvest, and especially that
his statesmanlike appeals to certain broad-minded and generous
men and women of means outside of this parish have been
crowned with so large a measure of success that to-day it seems
certain that the Mother Church of the Presbytery will remain
where it now is as long as the City endures, and be for Lower
Fifth Avenue what Old Trinity is for Lower Broadway.
With you and Dr. Duffield, and on behalf of the toiling
masses who must always live down-town, I hope and pray that
your Endowment Fund may soon be increased to at least a
half-million dollars. It ought not to be any less, if you and
your successors are to accomplish the large things that must be
done for the King in this part of the great metropolis. I have
faith enough in the progressive and forward-looking Presby-
terians of the present generation to feel sure that, in a far
higher degree than was true of their predecessors in 1890, they
realize what a priceless boon a Church like this could become
to this neighborhood — provided that it is adequately endowed.
Thank God that the "Old First" is at last anchored to
its now historic site. It is a green oasis to which the masses
of the people can come on the glad Rest Day, and at all times,
and for a while forget this down-town wilderness of brick and
stone and mortar — a cool and shady spot in the fierce heat and
sun of work-a-day living. A Church like this when fully organ-
ized and equipped and manned, does more than minister might-
ily, by its solemn grandeur and its worshipful services to the
religious wants and needs of the masses. It helps to lift up
and idealize and beautify many lives that are otherwise flat and
uninteresting and rnaterializing.
Thanks to what under God had already accomplished dur-
ing Dr. Duffield's twenty-five years of ministry here, you
have begun to carry out the poHcy which the Church of Christ
in New York City should ever keep in mind, the policy of
sending the best regiments into the very thick of the fight,
the policy of building up the strongest, the most beautiful, the
best equipped, most completely manned churches with the
finest of music and the best of preaching in the downtown
quarter of the great metropolis, the quarter where for many
people the conditions of life are the hardest and the obstacles
to Christian living are sometimes the greatest.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face
to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up
the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace, now
and evermore. Amen.
The Commemoration Address was then delivered
By the Reverend Doctor William Henry Roberts
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.
The Ministers of the First Presbyterian Church
IN THE City of New York
First Epistle to the Corinthians IV :1
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ,
and stewards of the mysteries of God."
It is easy from the mere human standpoint, to praise and
exalt the Church of Christ, whether we have in mind the
visible Church Universal, or a particular congregation of
Christian believers. Its victories over evil have been notable
in every century and are more significant and far reaching
in this present than at any previous epoch of the world's
history. By its doctrines it has taught the sinful world that
man was in origin a child of God, that the human soul has
inestimable value, that the goodness of God has all men as
its objects, and that faith, in Christ and love one for another,
were not only the duties of all men, but the natural results of
the existence of the Church. Again, in other than religious
lines the Church has been one of the greatest powers of
the world. It has been the center of the energies which have
78
THE V'^^^ '^'^^'^
PUBUC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX
ILD- N FOUNDATION
produced Christian civilization. Mighty and world-wide
have been the impulses which it has given to education, to
philanthropy, to art, to liberty and to social progress. Here
and there there may be found a few among men who ignorant
of history, depreciate the Church of Christ, but they who are
possessed of sound knowledge will always bow in its pres-
ence, cherishing within the heart that feeling of reverence
which prompted the first of English lexicographers, Samuel
Johnson, to remove his hat whenever he passed a church
edifice.
But the Church is not only in general, a proper object of
admiration from the intellectual standpoint, it has further a
deep hold upon the human heart. Its influence touches the
life of man at all its stages. It blesses the little child at the
baptismal font, receives it to communion at the age of dis-
cretion bestowes a benediction upon young men and women
at the marriage altar, and teaches all classes and ages their
duties and responsibilities. It visits them in their sickness,
uplifting their souls by sympathy and strengthening them with
prayer. It brings them into real fellowship with their breth-
ren and into union with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
It consols them with divine comfort amid the afflictions and
bereavements of earth, and at last when their work on earth
is over, speaks above their dust to the living, the inspiring
words, "sorrow not even as others, which have no hope, for
Jesus died and rose again, even so they which sleep in Jesus,
will God bring with him." From the cradle to the grave, the
Church in its services, and through its pastors, ministers to
the highest of human needs and Hfts upon the clouds which
gather about the tomb, the clear shining of that hope which
is in Him who is the Sun of Righteousness. Blessed in-
deed are the memories and the influences which cluster about
every organization of believers, be it large or small, whatever
the circumstances or the speech of its members, and in what-
ever portion of earth they are found.
What is true of the Christian Church in general, is true
in a notable sense of the First Presbyterian Church of New
York. Located in the metropolis of the new world, it has
79
been for two centuries related in a unique and potent manner
to the progress of humanity, of civihzation and of the King-
dom of Christ, both on the American and all other continents.
As we shall think of this First Church and of its ministers,
we do well to recall sentences from an anniversary sermon
preached in 1844 by the twelfth pastor the Rev. Dr. William
Wirt Phillips. "We feel called upon to record the kindness
and faithfulness of our God, who for so long a period, and
through so many changes and trials preserved a people called
by his name distinguished for their warm and sincere at-
tachment to his truth and devotedness to his service, to whom
he sent a succession of pious, able and faithful ministers who
have preached the same Gospel of his grace and administered
the same sacraments in their purity, and after the same simple
form of their original institution." We echo these words of
Dr. Phillips and rejoice that as the history proves the minis-
ters of this church have been worthy of the names "Ministers
of Christ and Stewards of the mysteries of God."
It is appropriate to begin this record of the lives of the
ministers of the church with reference to the fact that there
were from a very early day, English Puritan Presbyterians
in and about what is now New York City. It is interesting
here to observe that among all the cities of the United States,
the chief city which was founded by Colonists professing the
Reformed faith and attached to the Presbyterian system of
government, was this city of New York. The church of the
original Calvinists is still in our midst powerful and influential,
the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, The Presbyterian
element of the population of the city, now as of old, friendly
to the Reformed Church, is representative largely of the
Churches of Scotland and England, and of the Presbyterian
Church of Ireland, has always been sympathetic with the
church of the original settlers. So far as information can be
secured, the first Presbyterian to minister in this city was
the Rev. Francis Doughty, who officiated from 1643 to 1648.
The Rev. Richard Denton, pastor of the Church at Jamaica,
Long Island, from 1644 to 1658, also preached at times in
New York to a company of believers. Both these minis-
80
ters were regularly ordained clergymen of the church of Eng-
land, who held as Puritans to Presbyterian views of faith
and order and it is to be remembered that from 1645 to 1660
the Church of England was Presbyterian in government.
The most notable, however, of the earlier Presbyterian minis-
ters who visited New York City was the Rev. Francis Ma-
kemie, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, ordained in
the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, and the organizer of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. He
was several times in the city, and in 1707 for preaching to
a little company of Presbyterians in a private house, and
administering baptism to an infant was arrested by the Gov-
ernor of the then colony of New York, was imprisoned and
fined a large sum of money. The little group of English
speaking Presbyterians in New York City continued their
association together, however, despite all obstacles thrown in
their way, and at last feeling their need of a permanent re-
ligious society were organized as a church in the latter part of
the year 1716, and called in 1717 the Rev. James Anderson,
as their pastor.
Mr. Anderson was born in Scotland, November 17th, 1678,
and was ordained by Irvine Presbytery in 1708 with a view
to his settlement in Virginia. He did not, however, remain
in the Southern colony and was received by the General
Presbytery, then the supreme and only judicatory of the Pres-
byterian church, September 20, 1709, and was settled at New
Castle, Delaware. In 1717 he accepted a call to this con-
gregation which at the time worshipped in the City Hall.
His ministry was acceptable, and until near its close unevent-
ful. A division occurred in the congregation, in 1725 and the
members who separated called as their minister the Rev.
Jonathon Edwards, afterwards President of Princeton Col-
lege, and through his writing the acknowledged leader of
American theological and philosophical thought. The separa-
tion continued for about a year and Mr. Anderson resigned
in 1726. He accepted a call to Donegal, on the Susquehanna
River, and he also served the congregation at Derry. He
evidently was a man of influence and of executive ability, for
81
in 1713 he was Clerk of the General Presbytery, and in 1729
Moderator of the General Synod. In April, 1738, the General
Synod sent him as a deputation to wait on the Virginia Gov-
ernment, and solicit its favor in behalf of Presbyterianism
in that Colony. He performed his mission with success.
Mr. Anderson died July 16, 1740.
The successor of the Rev. James Anderson was the Rev.
Ebenezer Pemberton, recommended by certain of the minis-
ters of Boston, Mass., and at the request of the church he was
ordained in Boston, August 9th, 1727. Mr. Pemberton was
born at Boston, in 1704 and was graduated at Harvard Col-
lege in 1721. These facts suggest the great change since
1727 in the religious atmosphere of eastern New England and
emphasize the departure from Puritan doctrine in that region
since the dates of the adoption of the Westminster Con-
fession. During Mr. Pemberton's ministry the most notable
events were the several visits of the great evangelist the Rev.
George Whitefield. The Presbyterian Church edifice was the
only edifice open to the Revival Preacher, at his first visit
in November, 1739. In October, 1740, Whitefield came a
second time and a good authority declares that "the Holy
Ghost came down as a mighty rushing wind upon the com-
munity." Not only was the church greatly increased in num-
bers but the pastor himself became a notable preacher. He
preached at Yale College on several occasions and was greatly
inspired by Mr. Whitefield's third visit in 1747. As a preacher
Mr. Pemberton was much admired and his audiences were
large. He did not confine his labors to his own congrega-
tion but was one of the ministers interested in the establish-
ment of what is now Princeton University. Indeed White-
field wrote to Mr. Pemberton from London in 1748 urging
him to come there and solicit funds for Nassau Hall, the
first name of Princeton. Mr. Pemberton was also Moderator
of the General Synod in 1737 and of the Synod of New York
in 1746. In 1752 differences disturbed the church with refer-
ence to the use of Watts Psalms and some other matters and
Mr. Pemberton receiving in 1753 a unanimous call to the
Brick Church of Boston accepted the same with the consent
82
of both the Synod and Presbytery, and was installed in his
new charge March 6, 1754. He continued in Boston until
1774 and then retired, dying September 9, 1779. Mr. Pem-
berton was in both his charges a faithful pastor and in his
pulpit utterances loyal to the faith once delivered to the saints.
In October, 1750, the Rev. Alexander Gumming was or-
dained and installed by New York Presbytery as Collegiate
pastor with Mr. Pemberton. He was born at Freehold, N. J.,
in 1726. His father, Robert Gumming, was Ruling Elder
his maternal uncle was the Rev. Samuel Blair and he studied
under his pastor the Rev. William Tennant. He served at
first as a Missionary in Augusta Gounty, Virginia, and he is
said to have been the first Presbyterian minister to preach
within the bounds of Tennessee. It is a tribute to his abili-
ties that prior to his ordination and while still a licentiate
he opened the Synod of New York in 1750 with a sermon.
He was the first minister to occupy the office of collegiate
pastor, and his connection with the congregation ended Octo-
ber 25, 1753.
For nearly eight years he remained without a charge owing
to his feeble health. In 1761, however, he was installed
pastor of the Old South Ghurch in Boston and it is not at
all remarkable that it was said of his ministry in Boston that
being characterized by strong adherence to the Presbyterian
Standards, there were many in that city who did not relish
his sermons. He died August 23, 1763, and the testimony
concerning him is that "he was full of prayer a lively active
soul in a feeble body."
As successor both to Pemberton and Gumming the congre-
gation chose the Rev. David Bostwick who was born in New
Milford, Gonn., in 1721. A student at Yale Gollege he left
before graduating and completed his studies with the Rev.
Aaron Burr, at Newark, N. J. Ordained by the New York
Presbytery as pastor at Jamaica, L. I., in October, 1745, he
remained there more than ten years, having great repute as
a preacher and large acceptance with his brethren and the
churches. In the early part of 1756 Mr. Bostwick was in-
stalled as pastor of this Ghurch and the character of the man
83
is shown by the fact that an epidemic of smallpox being
prevalent in the city he came to the following conclusion (I
use his own words), "I had rather die in the way of duty
than purchase life by running out of it." He remained during
the epidemic in New York City but deemed it prudent to
send his family to Newark, N. J. Mr. Bostwick it is said
was uncommonly popular as a preacher. His appearance and
deportment were attractive. He possessed a clear under-
standing, a warm heart, a quick apprehension, a vivid imagina-
tion and solid judgment. He had a strong voice and a com-
manding eloquence. Dr. Miller says of him, that "his elo-
quence was such as few attain and with the purity of his
life, gave him a strong hold on public esteem." Mr. Bost-
wick was one of the overseers of the College of New Jersey
from 1761 and received from that Institution the degree of
Master of Arts in 1756. He also published several sermons
and a Work on "Infant Baptism." He was Moderator of
the Synod of New York in 1757 and died much lamented
November 12, 1763, in the 43rd year of his age.
The Rev. Joseph Treat who was a colleague pastor with
the Rev. Dr. Bostwick was installed as such in October, 1762.
A graduate of the College of New Jersey in 1757 he acted
as tutor for two years after his graduation. What little is
known of him in his pastoral work indicates that he was
faithful in duty and that his preaching was acceptable. He
was Moderator of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia
in 1782. During the war of the Revolution the congregation
of the First Church was scattered by the English occupation
of New York and the ministers left the city. Mr. Treat did
not return after the war but supplied the churches of Lower
Bethlehem and Greenwich, in Sussex County, N. J., until
his death in 1797.
The real successor to Mr. Bostwick was the Rev. John
Rodgers, D.D., born in Boston, Mass., August 5, 1727. His
parents removed to Philadelphia in 1728 and it was in the City
of Brotherly Love that he was brought up. During the first
visit of George Whitefield to Philadelphia in 1739 young
Rodgers was a constant attendant upon the services, and
84
when little more than twelve years old, became, to use a phrase
then current, "hopefully pious." He became a student in
1743 in the School under the care of the Rev. Samuel Blair
at Faggs Manor, Pa. A licentiate of the Presbytery of New
Castle, he was installed pastor at St. Georges, Delaware,
March 16, 1749. His work both in this congregation and in
the whole region was highly successful. He became Moder-
ator of the Synod of New York and Pennsylvania in 1763, and
under the advice of the Synod accepted a call to New York, and
was duly installed September 4, 1765. His evangelistic spirit
became immediately evident in his preaching and a large num-
ber of persons were added to the church within a short time.
Dr. Rodgers during the Revolutionary War was an ardent
patriot. He became Chaplain of General Heath's Brigade in
1776 and the records show that General Washington more
than once consulted with him. Dr. Rodgers was one of the
Committee of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia that
prepared the pastoral letter of 1775 calling all the ministers
and churches of the Synod to be "careful to maintain the
union which subsists through all the colonies and let it be
seen that they are able to bring out the whole strength of
this vast country." He was one of the first American minis-
ters to receive an honorary degree from the other side of
the Atlantic, the University of Edinburgh conferring upon
him the Doctorate of Divinity in 1782. Upon his return to
New York after the war of Independence he found the Wall
Street Church converted into a barracks and the Brick Church
into a hospital, both edifices being left in a ruined state. He
was invited, however, to preach in St. Paul's and St. George's
Episcopal Churches and the services of this congregation
were held for a time in those edifices. His activities in things
ecclesiastical alrear'-- noted, were continued after the achieval
of American independence. He was the second member of
the Committee (Dr. Witherspoon being the Chairman), which
framed the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A. and he \vas in 1789 the first elected Moderator of
the General Assembly established by the adoption of that
Constitution. The Associate Pastors with him were Joseph
85
Treat, James Wilson, John McKnight, and Samuel Miller.
The first two named died before their Senior, and the others
were associated with him to the close of his ministry. After
1803 he ceased to preach more than once on the Sabbath and
officiated for the last time in September, 1809. On May 7,
1811, he entered into rest in his 84th year. In his youth he
had served in a Mission on the frontiers in a manner to se-
cure commendation ; and he lived to see his country free and
prosperous and the church of his devotion enlarged beyond his
most sanguine expectations. During his entire ministry he
emphasized the importance of revivals of religion and we can-
not but doubt but that his heart was gladdened by the great
awakening during the early years of the Nineteenth Century
which saw added before 1830 to the communicant membership
of the American Presbyterian Church more than one hundred
thousand persons increasing its membership four fold, and
ushering in that period of expansion in all Christian work
which has followed upon the cultivation of the evangelistic
and missionary spirit. In all accounts given of Dr. Rodgers
one thing that is emphasized is the peculiar and uniform dig-
nity of his manners. While maintaining a spirit of kindly
fellowship with all men, he never, it is said, forgot that a
Christian minister is a gentleman.
Mr. James Wilson, one of the Colleagues of Dr. Rodgers,
was born in Scotland, came to the United States as a minister,
was received by the Presbytery in April, 1785, and installed in
August of the same year. He labored diligently and ac-
ceptably for about three years, but resigned in 1788 owing
to the impairment of his health. He became in January, 1788,
pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Charleston, S. C, where
he spent several years in fruitful pastoral service. Resigning
that charge he retired from active work, owing to ill health
and died in Virginia in 1799 in the forty-eighth year of his age.
Dr. John McKnight, the seventh pastor of the Church, was
a native of Pennsylvania, was born near Carlisle, October 1,
1754, and graduated at Princeton College in 1773. He minis-
tered to a congregation in Virginia from 1775 to 1783 and was
then settled over lower Marsh Creek Church in Adams County,
86
Pennsylvania. He was installed as colleague with Dr. Rodgers,
December 2, 1789. In 1795 he was elected Moderator of the
General Assembly. During twenty years he rendered faithful
and acceptable service in the congregation combining the dig-
nity of a clergyman with the urbanity of a gentleman. He
appears to have been a worthy exception to the rule, "That
a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." He
resigned in April, 1809, because of the new arrangements
which were being made in connection with the management
of the church. It is proper here to state that in this year
the Collegiate System so long in existence was definitely
abandoned. Prior to this year three congregations in separate
church edifices had been under the control of one church
Session and one Board of Trustees. This change involved a
new disposition of pastors and Dr. McKnight retired. From
this time forward his health being delicate he consented to
be a Stated Supply only, declining even such flattering invita-
tion as that to the Presidency of Dickinson College. He died
October 21, 1823, in the seventieth year of his age.
Another colleague of Dr. Rodgers was the Rev. Samuel
Miller, D.D., son of the Rev. John Miller, D.D., pastor near
Dover, Delaware, born at the manse October 31, 1769. Gradu-
ated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1789 he was licensed
by the Presbytery of Lewes and was installed as Colleague pas-
• tor with Dr. Rodgers and Dr. McKnight, June 5, 1792. In
1806 he was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly.
Deeply interested in theological education he was one of the
ministers active in the establishment of Princeton Theological
Seminary, and was chosen in 1813 to the Chair of Ecclesiastical
History and Church Government in that Institution. In this
post of usefulness and honor he served to the full acceptance
of the Presbyterian Church at large for more than thirty-six
years. In May, 1849, feeling the infirmities of age, he tendered
his resignation, and in accepting it the Assembly bore testimony
to their great appreciation of his services and their high re-
spect for his character. He died January 7, 1850. Dr. Miller
was distinguished not only as a preacher but also as an
author. As a profession he gave to his work all the energies
87
of mind and body. Of the "Clerical Manners" which he rec-
ommends in his valuable work on that subject, he was himself
an admirable example and it can be truly said of him in rela-
tion to the institution, of which he was one of the chief agents
in establishing, that "being dead he yet speaketh."
The briefest pastorate in the record of the First Church
was that of the Rev. Philip Milledoler, D.D., who was born
at Rhinebeck, N. Y., in 1775, was graduated from Columbia
College in 1793, and was pastor of the Nassau Street Re-
formed Church in New York City from 1795 to 1800. In the
latter year he was installed as pastor of the Third Presbyterian
Church of Philadelphia and continued there until early in
1805. He was Colleague pastor of the First Church in 1805
for less than a year and then became pastor of the Rector
Street Presbyterian Church from 1805 to 1813. He was
Moderator of the General Assembly in 1808 and Stated Clerk
of the General Assembly from 1803 to 1806. In 1813 he re-
turned to the Reformed Church and became one of the pas-
tors of the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of
New York. In 1825 the General Synod of that Church
elected him Professor of Theology in the Theological Semi-
nary at New Brunswick, N. J., and he was for a time also
President of Rutgers College. Dr. Milledoler's ministry was
highly successful and his pastorates were characterized by an
almost constant revival of religion. His "preaching was full
of grace and often rose to great heights of eloquence." Re-
tiring from active service in 1845 he died September 22, 1852,
aged 77 years.
The Rev. Philip Melancthon Whelpley was the third minis-
ter of Massachusetts birth to be pastor of this Church. Born
at Stockbridge in that State in 1794 he v/as licensed to preach
in October, 1814, by the Presbytery of Jersey having studied
under the direction of the Rev. Dr. James Richards of Newark.
He was ordained and installed pastor on April 25, 1815. His
career though brief, was highly useful. As a preacher he was
brilliant. "Characterized by grace of manner, elegant diction
and eloquence of thought" he was most effective in the pulpit
until the much to be regretted close of his career. His death
occurred July 17, 1824, in the thirtieth year of his age.
88
The successor of Dr. Whelpley was the Rev. William Wirt
Phillips, D.D., who was born in Florida, Montgomery Co.,
N. Y., September 23, 1796, graduated at Union College in
1813 and was a student first in the Associate Reformed
Theological Seminary in New York and then in the Theological
Seminary of the Reformed Church at New Brunswick. He
was transferred as a licentiate to the Presbyterian Church in
1817 and in April, 1818, was installed pastor of the Pearl
Street Presbyterian Church in New York. Here he was a
most acceptable minister for eight years and was then trans-
ferred by the Presbytery to the pulpit of the First Presby-
terian Church, at the time worshipping in Wall Street. Dur-
ing his pastorate the new church edifice was built. His
religion, it is said, "moulded his whole character, and diftused
itself over his whole life." Among the people of his charge
he moved about as a good angel. In the pulpit he was a
model of simplicity and fervor, and brought out the great
truths of the gospel in a luminous and impressive manner.
His good influence was felt throughout the whole church.
The general respect early cherished for him is found in the
fact that the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred
upon him by Columbia College when he was thirty years of
age. He was also a Trustee of the College of New Jersey
and a member of the Council of the New York University,
a Trustee and a Director of the Theological Seminary at
Princeton, and in addition he was the President of the Di-
rectors. He was Moderator of the General Assembly in
1835 and was often sent to that Body as a Commissioner.
During several years of his later life he was President of the
Board of Foreign Missions and occupied in addition, other posi-
tions of responsibility. The work devolving upon him was fre-
quently onerous, but he gave himself thereto with earnestness
and in the exercise of his ability met the demands of every situ-
ation. It is said of him that few of his contemporaries had
more to do than he in moulding the destinies of the Presby-
terian Church. He continued actively in the duties of the pas-
torate and in the fulfilling of other appointments, until within
four weeks of his death, which occurred March 20, 1865.
89
His successor, the Rev. William Miller Paxton, D.D., LL.D.,,
was born in Adams County, Pa., and was the grandson on
£he maternal side of the Rev. William Miller, D.D., for years
pastor of the Lower Marsh Creek Church. His father was a
leading lawyer of the Commonwealth ; and the son after his
graduation from Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, in 1843
chose the same profession. During his legal studies he, how-
ever, decided that it was his duty to become a minister, and
therefore entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton,
graduating in 1848. He was ordained by the Presbyterian
Church at Greencastle, October 4, 1848, and there he re-
mained two years. His success in his work at Greencastle
led to his being called to the First Presbyterian Church at
Pittsburgh as successor of the famous Rev. Dr. Francis
Herron. Installed in this important church in January, 1851,
he speedily became felt both in the City of Pittsburgh and the
surrounding region, and his pulpit labors in particular were
attended by the divine blessing. Interested in the affairs of
the Church at large, he was from 1860 to 1867 also Professor
of Sacred Rhetoric in the Western Theological Seminary. In
1866 he was invited to the pastorate of this First Church of
New York, which he accepted and where his work was equally
successful as it had been in Pittsburgh. His interest in theo-
logical education led him in New York City, as in Pittsburgh,
to add to his pastoral labors theological instruction, and he
filled with distinction the post of Lecturer on Sacred Rhetoric
in the Union Theological Seminary. In 1883 he was elected
successor to the Rev. Alexander T. McGill, D.D., LL.D., in
the Chair of Ecclesiastical, Homiletical and Pastoral The-
ology in Princeton Theological Seminary. Here likewise his
eminent qualifications for the training of young men for the
ministry had ample opportunity for their appropriate influ-
ence. Dr. Paxton was Moderator of the General Assembly at
Madison, Wis., in May, 1880, and in September of the same
year preached the opening sermon at the Second General
Council of the World Wide Presbyterian Alliance which met
at that time in Philadelphia. As a preacher Dr. Paxton stood
in the front rank, and his eloquence and power were uni-
90
versally acknowledged. He was also among the foremost
leaders of the Church in her progressive advance in benevo-
lence and in missions, and in the general moral and spiritual
uplift which beginning in the 19th century is gathering greater
headway than ever before in these opening years of the 20th
century. Active in connection with all the work of the church,
he was specially interested in the Board of Foreign Missions,
of which he was President from 1880 to 1884 and a member
until his death at Princeton, N. J., November 24th, 1904, in
the eighty-second year of his age.
We now come to the two ministers of the Church who
are still on earth and who have been privileged to serve this
Church as successors to their brethren who have passed on
before, and who have received the crown of Righteousness.
In dealing with their records, the speaker will confine him-
self to simple statements of fact.
The fourteenth pastor of the Church, Rev. Richard Daven-
port Harlan, D.D., LL.D., was born in Evansville, Ind., No-
vember 14, 1859, and of a family notable in the annals of
Kentucky. He graduated from Princeton University in 1881
and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1885. He was
ordained to the ministry April 1, 1886, and at the same time
was installed as pastor of this Church. He continued in the
position until 1890 and then resigned, to follow theological
studies at the University of Berlin. From 1894 to 1901 he
was pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, N.
Y., and from 1901 to 1906 the President of Lake Forest
Uni-'^ersity, 111. More recently he has been in charge of the
George Washington University Movement, Washington, D. C,
for the purpose of carrying out the spirit of Washington's
last Will and Testament, in the development of a University
for graduate work at the National Capitol.
The present pastor, the Rev. Howard Duffield, D.D., was
born at Princeton, N. J., April 9, 1854, graduating from
Princeton University in 1873 and from Princeton Seminary in
1877. The family of which he is a member is historic in
the annals of the country and of the church. Ordained in
June, 1877, he was until 1880 pastor of Leacock Church,
:;1
Leaman Place, Pa. He was also Pastor at Beverly, N. J.,
from 1880 to 1884 and of the Westminster Presbyterian
Church, Detroit, Michigan, from 1884 to 1891. He became
pastor of this First Church in 1891 and has rendered in this
pastorate, services which have been most important in main-
taining the past record of the church, and in securing its
future permanency.*
The record we have considered sets forth certain things
worthy of special attention. The old proverb is always true :
"In To-day walks To-morrow." Some of the lessons of the
record are the following:
1. Loyalty to Church standards is of potential value in
connection with all church enterprises. The ministers of this
*For the sake of the record, it is desirable to insert in a foot-note
facts concerning Dr. Duffield's pastorate which the Speaker did not
feel at liberty to introduce into his spoken address.
Dr. Duffield is ex-officio a Trustee of the Sailor's Snug Harbor
and of the Leake and Watts Orphan House and a Manager of the
Presbyterian Hospital. He served as Aloderator of the Synod of
New York and was four times chosen as Moderator of the New
York Presbytery. For a time he was a Member of the Board of
Foreign Missions, a Trustee of Lincoln University, and a Trustee
of the New York City Mission and Tract Society. From the out-
set of his pastorate he has been a Director of Princeton Theolog-
ical Seminary. He is a member of the Century Club, the Quill Club
and Chi Alpha. He is Vice President of the Saint Nicholas Soci-
ety, Lieutenant Governor of the Society of Colonial Wars in the
State of New York, and Member of the Board of Management
of the Veteran Corps of Artillery, and the Military Society of the
War of 1812. He is a Member of the Sons of the Revolution, and
an Honorary Member of the Huguenot Society of America and of the
Marine Society of the City of New York.
During his pastorate the Thurlow Weed Mansion (12 West
Twelfth Street) was purchased as a Manse and the Chapel in Elev-
enth Street was built. The Church was paved with marble. Its
ten windows were filled with Memorial glass. Electric lighting
was installed as a Memorial Gift. The Memorial Chimes were
placed in the Tower. The Chapel Organ was purchased and the
Church Organ was enlarged and perfected.
In addition to collecting an Endowment Fund of over Four
Hundred Thousand Dollars, Dr. Duffield also secured a Working
Capital Fund of Ten Thousand Dollars per annum, covering a
period of ten years.
92
Church have been men of pronounced Presbyterian convic-
tions, who combined in a remarkable degree denominational
loyalty with that catholicity which is at the heart of the Pres-
byterian system. While holding strongly to their own opin-
ions as to doctrine, government and worship, from James
Anderson down to the present, these ministers have acknowl-
edged the rights of conscience as the inalienable possession
of all men. While thorough going Presbyterians they have
been also large minded Christians and this has been of in-
estimable value in connection with the influence of the Church
in the community, and in the moulding of American character
upon positive and broad and generous lines.
2. The great value to a congregation, of which it is a part,
of the Christian denomination. The pastors of this congre-
gation have been, as a rule, ministers interested not only in
the work and the progress of the congregation to which they
were directly related, but also have had time for attention to
the work of that great Fellowship of Churches, known now
by the name of the Presbyterian Church in the United States
of America. During Colonial Days, Anderson and Pember-
ton, Bostwick and Rodgers were leaders in the Councils of
the Presbyterian Church and when the need arose, patriots
in the front rank. After the achieval of Independence and
the establishment of the Presbyterian General Assembly, this
leadership was recognized not only in the Councils of the
Churches, but further in the work of its Administrative
Boards. Princeton College, and Princeton Theological Semi-
nary were also the special objects of the activities of succes-
sive pastors. Five of the number were Moderators of the
General Assembly: John Rodgers, 1789; John McKnight,
1795; Samuel Miller, 1806; Philip Milledoler, 1808; William
Wirt Phillips, 1835; William M. Paxton, 1880. The history
shows that there is no field of service to which an important
congregation can more appropriately lend its influence for the
upbuilding of the Church of Christ than through the service
of its pastors in the work of the Church at Large. It has
both a direct and a reflex influence. It stimulates other con-
gregations to activity in national and world wide Christian
93
enterprises and it brings the congregations whose pastors are
leaders in church work, to a higher standard of influence and
a greater outreach of power. Narrowness gives place to
breadth, and worldwide Christian activity stimulates congre-
gational thoroughness of service and Christ-like sympathy.
3. The gracious and potent influence of the evangelistic
spirit.
It is notable in the history of this Church that the first
decided growth in numbers and influence was the result of
the visits of the great evangelist the Rev. George Whitefield,
and it is also notable that the only church in the city on his
first visit which opened the doors of its edifice to him was the
First Church. God's blessing followed. The Church was
much prospered spiritually and, through its pastor Ebenezer
Pemberton, ministered of the blessing it had received to other
cities. This influence of Whitefield was continued in an espe-
cial manner in the pastorate of the Rev. John Rodgers, D.D.,
one of the converts of that great apostolic preacher of the
eighteenth century. The Church is to be congratulated that
not only the two ministers referred to, but others have been
earnest in their efforts through the pulpit and in their pastoral
labors in behalf of the conversion of sinners, as well as for the
edification of saints. Evangelism is the key note of the re-
ligion of Jesus Christ, the divine Saviour, and the evangelistic
spirit should be a decided feature of every ministerial life.
One of the notable things about the history of evangelism in
the United States of America has been the fact that the great
evangelistic leaders frequently have been ministers holding to
Calvinistic doctrine, as well as officially connected with the
Presbyterian Church. It was true in this city of old, and his-
tory is often repeating itself, that men holding to the divine
sovereignty and looking to the Holy Spirit for His guidance
and blessing will add through their labors greatly to the num-
bers and also to the missionary spirit, not only of the Presby-
terian but of other Christian Churches.
4. The power in church and ministerial life that is se-
cured by the exaltation of Jesus Christ consciously to the first
place, in thought, speech and act. He is the head of His body,
94
which is the Church. Out of the recognition of this head-
ship flows incalculable benefit alike to congregations and min-
isters. Of the pastors of this Church it can be truly said that
there was in all their ministry the sentiment put into rhyme
by a distinguished theologian, who during his life was often
in this pulpit. It was a favorite saying of the Rev. Archibald
A. Hodge:
"I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all
And Jesus Christ is all in all."
The exaltation of Christ to His rightful place in the Church,
and in the individual heart, and in the life of the Church, is
the secret of power, of true prosperity and of permanence in
connection with all spiritual interests.
May Christ reign more and more in the hearts of this peo-
ple. May its ministers be through all the coming years true
ministers of Christ and real stewards of the mysteries of God.
Many are they, whose earnest prayer is that all the desires of
Dr. Duffield and his co-laborers for the increasing success
of this congregation may be answered to the full, and this
Church continue a great moral and spiritual power in this
world, influencing the community until the Christ shall come
in His glory a second time unto the fullness of salvation.
The Commemoration Prayer was then offered
By the Reverend Doctor George Alexander
Pastor of the Presbyterian Church on University Place
Then was sung the Hymn :
"Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand."
The Closing Prayer and Benediction was pronounced
By the Reverend Doctor John A. Marquis
Moderator of the General Assembly :
"Almighty God our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for
the record of those saints that have gone on high. We praise
Thee for the influence of this Church. As this Church has
praised Thy name in the centuries gone by, we come to Thee
as Thy children living in this present hour, to pray for Thy
blessing upon us, that we may be their worthy successors.
95
"Endue us with the same spirit of trust in our Lord Jesus
Christ. BaptizQ us with the spirit of evangehsm. As in
their time they were men of power through Jesus Christ, grant
O our Father, that in our day and generation we may also
be men of power.
"We pray that Thy richest blessing may rest upon this
Church, upon the Pastor of this Church and upon the people
who from Sabbath to Sabbath here lift voice and heart in
praise and prayer to Thee.
"And now may the love of God, Our Father, the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and the fellowship of
the Holy Ghost, our Sanctifier, be and abide with us and the
people of God everywhere. Amen."
96
THE ANNUAL DINNER
The Presbyterian Social Union of New York City
Monday, December the Fourth, at 8.30 P. M.
The Presbyterian Union of New York is an organization
composed of members from all the Presbyterian Churches of
the City, associated for promoting social intercourse, to give
opportunity for personal acquaintance and to quicken the sense
of fellowship throughout the communion. In addition to sev-
eral meetings during each season, at which literary and musi-
cal entertainment is provided, it is the custom of the Union to
hold an Annual Dinner, to which the Moderator of the General
Assembly is invited and at which eminent speakers discuss
topics of outstanding importance, and general interest. By
a happy coincidence, the date for the Dinner of 1916 fell
within the time set for the Bi-Centennial Celebration of
the establishment of Presbyterianism in the City of New York
by the founding of the Old First Church, and at the gracious
suggestion of the Moderator of the Presbytery, and the Presi-
dent of the Union, steps were taken to make the formal recog-
nition of this notable event a prominent feature of this annual
function. The fact of the Celebration having been in due form
brought to the attention of the Union by the Church and by the
Presbytery, the following action was taken : "The Executive
Committee of the Presbyterian Social Union has accepted
for the Union the invitation of the Old First Church on Fifth
Avenue and Eleventh Street, and of the Presbytery of New
York, to join with them in celebrating at this time the Two
Hundredth Anniversary of Presbyterianism in New York City.
The Presbyterian Union takes pride in commemorating the
splendid and honorable traditions of the Church." With note-
worthy courtesy the Union invited Dr. and Mrs. Duffield to be
its Guests of Honor and requested the Pastor of the Old First
Church to be one of the After Dinner Speakers.
The gathering of Presbyterians at the Hotel Savoy upon
the evening of December 6th was more than ordinarily large
97
and representative. Groups of members from all the Churches
of the Presbytery and the leaders of Presbyterian thought and
work throughout the City and the land were assembled. The
usual dining room was too small to accommodate the guests
and tables were placed in the adjoining salon.
Mr. Edwin J. Gillies presided with characteristic grace and
force. The Reverend Doctor Mendenhall, Moderator of the
Presbytery, said grace. The Reverend Doctor Jowett, Min-
ister of the Fifth Avenue Church, with great felicity of phrase,
gave an impressive analysis of the "Religious Life in England
as affected by the War." The Reverend Doctor Marquis,
Moderator of the General Assembly, in words aglow with light
and power, argued for the intensifying of the spiritual life of
the Presbyterian Church throughout the land. The Reverend
Doctor Dufheld, Minister of the Old First Church, whose pas-
torate rounded out a quarter of a century at the same time
that his Church reached the Bi-Centennial mark dealt col-
loquially with the theme dictated by the occasion. "Twenty-
five Years — Behind and Ahead." The past he sketched with
informal anecdote and personal reminiscence. The future he
suggested was beckoning the Churches to realize not only a
Social Union but a Spiritual Union of heart and life, from
which all denominational influences should be eliminated and
which should illustrate the great basic principle formulated by
Augustine, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in
all things, charity."
98
ANNIVERSARY DAY
Wednesday, December the Sixth, Eight p. m.
The Festival Service
The Festival Service was devoted to a presentation of the
varied lines along which the activity of the Old First Church
had been exerted. The Order of Exercises was planned to
bring into view the part which it had played in civic life,
philanthropic interest, educational work, and church develop-
ment within the city, and missionary enterprise throughout the
world.
Invitations had been issued in large numbers to the leaders
of all phases of ecclesiastical and civic thought and activity,
and to the heads of the National, State, and Municipal Gov-
ernments. The acceptances were general. The various De-
nominations and the Religious, Patriotic and Historic Societies
of the City appointed delegations. For all the representatives
of secular interests seats were assigned in the Church. The
Presbytery and the Delegates from religious organizations as-
sembled in the Chapel at seven-thirty o'clock. Wearing vest-
ments and academic robes, they entered the Church in proces-
sion, at eight o'clock. Led by the Pastor, they marched down
the South Aisle, across the end of the Church behind the screen,
and passed up the Centre Aisle to the pews reserved for them.
The Speakers of the evening, each with a special escort, was
conducted to his place in the Pulpit. The long lines of the pro-
cession, defiling through the densely crowded church, the bright
and various colors of the gowns and hoods, the brilliant uni-
forms of the Governor's Staff, together with the swelling tones
of the Processional Hymn, ushered in the Festival Service with
singular impressiveness. An Order of Service specially pre-
pared for this function had been distributed to every one pres-
ent. It contained in full every item of the evening's exercises
so that each person was enabled easily and fully to take part in
the Celebration.
99 Oi^.'t^^s^^^X
The Salutation was read
By the Reverend Doctor Howard Duffield,
Minister of the Old First Church.
The Choir sang as an Anthem the
"Sanctus" by Gounod.
The Reverend George J. Russell
Moderator of the Presbytery of Long Island
then led in the Reading from the Psalter of Psalm CXLV,
and offered the Prayer of General Thanksgiving.
Then was sung the Hymn :
"O where are Kings and empires now.
A series of Anniversary Addresses, illustrating and empha-
sizing the varied lines of influence along which the ministry of
the Old First Church had been exercised during the double
century since its founding, were then delivered.
An Address entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND HER CHILDREN
was then delivered by
The Reverend Doctor William Pierson Merrill
Minister of the Brick Presbyterian Church
The little band of Presbyterians, which dared to establish
in New York City a Church of their own faith and order tvvO
hundred years ago, has grown into a brotherhood of sixty
churches, with thirty-five thousand members. These Churches
send back, through a past, rich with varied experiences of
storm and sunshine, of growth in favorable and in unfavor-
able conditions, their greeting of reverence and love to the Old
First Church, the Church that once contained them all. It is
a staunch Calvinistic conviction that all of us were in Adam
when he sinned. It is a realization no less sound and far
more pleasant, that we were all in the Old First Church when
it began its corporate life.
And we are still one. The family has not grown so large
that we forget the inter-relationship. This occasion is like
the homecoming at Thanksgiving Day or Christmas. The
children are glad that they have homes of their own; they
100
may even be better friends for living in not too close an
intimacy. But it is good to be brought together at times in
the bonds of affection for the mother and the old home.
It would be quite inappropriate to attempt any historical
review of the growth of Presbyterians in New York City.
The time would fail me (as it failed even an inspired man
on one occasion) and the work has been done by those far
better qualified to deal with it. It is well to be content with
a simple greeting. It is not inappropriate that this word of
greeting should come from a representative of the Brick
Church, for that child stayed long in the home ; for forty years
fiving one corporate life with the Old First Church, though
in a separate building, not so much "tied to its mother's apron
strings" as "bound in one bundle of life." It is a privilege to
bring these greetings, however, not only from any one child,
but in the name of the whole family.
The growth from one church to sixty does not adequately
express the progress made by Presbyterianism on this island
during the past two hundred years. For conditions are such in
this abnormally crowded area, that churches are not easily
started or maintained. The present situation represents a sur-
vival,— we will not say of the fittest, but of the most fortunate.
There have been many consolidations, — intermarriages among
the descendants. There is a familiar saying that that man is a
public benefactor who can make two blades of grass grow
where one grew before. But in the conditions that obtain
here, we may well count that man a benefactor of the church,
who can make one strong ecclesiastical organization grow,
where two weak ones grew before. In the chorus of greetings
brought to the Old First Church, "Jerusalem, the mother of
us all," there are to be caught the voices of churches now no
longer to be found in tangible form, churches that have been
willing to fall into the ground and die, for the sake of the
wider interests of Presbyterianism and of the Kingdom of God.
We may well permit ourselves on this occasion to dwell a
little on some of the best outstanding characteristics which
have marked the Presbyterians of the City of New York.
First of all, in the beginning and throughout, the Presby-
terian Churches of this city have been characterized by a firm
101
and splendid loyalty to their own great branch of the Christian
Church. Despite misunderstanding and wrong impressions
which may have obtained among outsiders at times, I know
that all will join with me in the confident assertion that
nowhere in America is there a Presbytery, or any organization
of Presbyterian men and women, more consistently and
eagerly loyal to the standards of the Presbyterian Church, to
the accepted statements of its belief, and to the historic prin-
ciples and ideals of Presbyterianism. Perhaps we may be
pardoned if, on such an occasion, we allow ourselves some
indulgence in self gratification that we have been loyal when
loyalty was severly tested ; and that it seems clear to us
that more than once we have been most faithful to historic
Presbyterianism, when some were questioning our loyalty.
But the Presbyterian Churches of this City have been
heartily loyal not only to the standards and creeds of their
denomination, but as well to those larger interests, the work
and spirit and best traditions of Presbyterianism. How the
churches in this city have contributed and are contributing,
their best, in men and in resources, to the nation-wide, and
world-wide work of the great denomination of which they
are a part ! The Churches of this Presbytery have been fore-
most in studying the unity and the progress of the church.
Nowhere have we been more truly loyal to the spirit of our
beloved church than in that which some count weakness,
namely, our catholicity in giving and in service. Doubtless
it is true of Presbyterians in general, and notoriously true
of New York Presbyterians, that they give without stint
from their resources of wealth and personality to all good
work, to undenominational and inter-denominational under-
takings, as freely as to their own church causes. No doubt
it is a tendency carried too far in many cases ; no doubt
it is a weakness in the matter of denominational efficiency and
success. But there is something finely Christian in it, some-
thing of the very essence of the Presbyterian spirit. For
one of the deep and fundamental principles of our church is
that we assert that we are not the church, that the true church
of God is very wide and far-reaching, that all truth is ours,
102
and that all good work is ours. Catholicity of giving and of
service is one of those weaknesses, through which the power
of Christ rests the more upon a man, or a fellowship of men;
one of those weaknesses in which we may well glory.
We recall with joy and gratitude the evidences that the
stock is not failing, that the Presbyterianism of New York
to-day is vigorous and alert. It was here that the vital task
of Church extension in City conditions first took on adequate
dimensions, and the leadership has been maintained. It is to
this Presbytery that those look for guidance who the country
over, are awake to the pressing problems of immigration and
congestion. By no means the least hopeful and interesting
among the children of the Old First Church, are the new
churches among the foreign born residents of our City, centres
of true Americanism, of civic worth, of Christian character
building. What is there anywhere in the world, that comes
nearer to a fulfillment of the inspired vision of a church made
up of all peoples and kindreds and tongues than the Interna-
tional Presbyterian Church at Labor Temple? It points with
hope to a time when this City shall be in truth the City of God.
So we, who have grown out of that first little band of
faithful Presbyterians, salute the Old First Church to-night.
We rejoice that the First Church is still here, still strong, still
facing the future with hope and courage and determination.
We give thanks for the real unity of our Presbytery, that,
large as the family has grown to be, it is still one family.
We hope and pray and believe that the best years of the Pres-
byterian Church on this island are still ahead of us ; and as
we look forward, our wish for the City which we love and
serve in the name of Christ, and for the Church which is the
loved Mother of us all, is found in the closing verses of the
prophecies of Exekiel and Daniel :
"And the name of the city in that day shall be, the Lord
is There." "And as for thee, go thy way; for thou shalt
stand in thy lot at the end of the days." May the Old First
Church be found' standing in her lot, with her many children
around her in one strong loyal family, when this City shall at
last have become the City of our God.
103
An Address Entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND THE WINNING OF
THE WORLD
was then delivered by
The Reverend Doctor George Alexander
President of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions
Mr. Moderator, Members of the Presbytery of New York,
Minister and Members of the Old First Presbyterian
Church and Friends:
There is no more shining chapter in the annals of the First
Presbyterian Church of New York than that which records
its part in the winning of the world for Christ. It is no
exaggeration to say that in her arms the enterprise of Foreign
Missions, as prosecuted by the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America, was cradled.
In the year 1837 that Church proclaimed itself a missionary
organization, created a Board charged with the task of fulfill-
ing its missionary responsibility and located its headquarters
m this city. The year 1837 was a disastrous year, a year of
commercial panic which wrecked fortunes all over the land and
especially in New York. It was also a year of ecclesiastical
strife, resulting in a Presbyterian schism that remained for
more than thirty years unhealed. In the midst of a tempest,
the missionary craft was launched.
Dr. Samuel Miller, a Professor in Princeton Theological
Seminary, and a former Minister of this Church, was the
first President of the Board, which consisted of one hundred
and twenty members scattered over the country. The Board
in action was its Executive Committee, of which Dr. William
Wirt Phillips, then Minister of this Church, was Chairman
from the beginning. A wise and courteous leader of men,
a strong and commanding figure, he stood at the helm until
in 1865, death loosened his grasp.
With him were associated other honored members of this
Church, notably Mr. James Lenox, founder of the Lenox Li-
brary and other civic institutions, who, after an interval of
only two years, succeeded Dr. Phillips in the Chairmanship of
104
the Committee, and at the reorganization in 1870 became first
President of the Board, as now constituted. Of this Com-
mittee the historian says: "Its meetings held weekly, with the
attendance of the Chairman, rarely interrupted during a quar-
ter of a century, constituted a pre-eminent factor in the ad-
vance of the work abroad and in securing for it the confidence
and support of the Churches."
This record of fidelity is all the more remarkable since the
First Church itself was in 1837 passing through a season of
stress. Only two years before, its holy and beautiful house
had been reduced to ashes in the great fire, which necessitated
the strain of rebuilding on the old site in Wall Street, to be
followed in a very few years by the wrench of removal to
Twelfth Street.
Dr. William M. Paxton succeeded Dr. Phillips in Foreign
Mission service as well as in the pastorate of this Church and
continued to be a member of the Board until his death. For
five years, from 1880 to 1885, he was President of the Board,
so that, for half of the Hfe of the Board of Foreign Missions,
a minister or a member of the First Church presided over its
deliberations and powerfully influenced its policies.
It is a matter of some interest to me personally that during
fifty years of the life of that Board the presiding officer has
been an Alumnus of the little college in Schenectady which
it is my privilege to call Alma Mater.
During the first forty years of the Board's existence this
Church was the largest contributor to its treasury. I take the
record of a single year as a fair sample : — "contributions for
Church Support $12,000, for Foreign Missions $36,000."
Even as late as the year 1870, this Church contributed more
than one-ninth of the Board's receipts from all our churches
throughout the land.
Thirty years ago our Boards of Home and Foreign Mis-
sions occupied cramped quarters in a little old house at 23
Center Street. It was an honored member of this Church,
Mr. Robert Lenox Kennedy, who by a personal gift of $50,000
and by his family influence, affected their removal to the
former Lenox Mansion on the corner of 12tK Street and
105
5th Avenue. If some of us had been as wise twenty years
ago, as we think we are to-day, it is probable that the head-
quarters of the Presbyterian Church in America would have
been a stately edifice in place of the towering commercial
building on yonder corner, and Howard Duffield, instead of
George Alexander, as President of the Board of Foreign Mis-
sions would be talking to you about "The Old First Church
and the Winning of the World."
It should be added that in those formative years when forces
resident in this Church were the controlling forces in the
Board of Foreign Missions, the great missionary leaders, who
being dead are yet speaking, were chosen, commissioned and
supported in their heroic service. The Lowries, the Morri-
sons, the Newtons, the saintly George Boehm in India, Nevius
in China, Hepburn in Japan, and Wilson in Africa, — men of
extraordinary capacity and consecration, who exalted the task
of world evangelization and made it glorious in the eyes of
all people.
Little did the faithful men of that generation realize how
wisely they were building and to what proportions the work
of their hands would grow ! Could they have foreseen that
in this year of grace, their Board of Foreign Missions would
be gathering and expending two and one-half millions of
dollars, supporting fourteen hundred foreign missionaries and
six thousand native helpers, maintaining schools, colleges, dis-
pensaries and hospitals, establishing mighty centers of civili-
zation, philanthropy, and Gospel light in every dark continent,
they would have been as men that dream ; "their mouth would
have been filled with laughter and their tongue with singing."
If the Old First Church, Dr. Duffield, should die to-morrow,
it would have its memorial in many a far land, and not only
have a memorial, but be still working there. May she not
die, but live through the ages, borrowing fresh courage and
strength and stimulus from the traditions of her great past !
106
An Address entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND EDUCATION
was then delivered by
The Reverend Doctor John Grier Hibben,
President of Princeton University
Mr. Moderator, Dr. Duffield, Visiting Delegates, His Ex-
cellency, the Governor and Members of the Congregation of
the First Presbyterian Church:
I regard it a great privilege to bring to your church this
evening the very hearty felicitations of Princeton University.
The name of Princeton University would be unknown to the
founders of this church. They knew Princeton only under
the name of the College of New Jersey. One of the pastors
of this church, Ebenezer Pemberton, belonged to the little
group of men who founded at Princeton the College of New
Jersey, and continued throughout his life a most influential
and devoted Trustee of the College.
The test, perhaps, of any institution is to be found in its
first years, and through this stormy period we had the con-
stant sympathy, encouragement and support of Ebenezer Pem-
berton. And then the second period of storm and stress for
the young College occurred in the days of the Revolution, and
at that time Dr. Witherspoon was the President of the col-
lege, and a very intimate friend of John Rogers, the Pastor
of this Church.
John Rogers was also a Trustee of the University. And
from the beginnings of Princeton to the present day we have
looked to the First Church for counsel and for substantial
support. In our endeavor to repay this debt, we have been
training young boys who have come to us, and in after years
they have appeared in this pulpit as your pastors, with the
stamp of the Princeton training upon their character and
upon their preaching.
Presbyterianism has as one of its by-products — or perhaps
I should correct myself and say one of its natural products —
the founding of academies and colleges and universities.
Our forefathers two hundred years ago at the founding of this
107
Church, and again one hundred and seventy years ago, at the
beginnings of Princeton, had only three ideals which they
hoped to realize; and to those ideals, which blended into one,
they concentrated all their efforts, all their endeavor, — the
Church, the School and the State. The men who founded the
churches of this country were the men who founded our
academies and colleges, and the men who founded our acade-
mies and colleges were among the foremost in the time of
our country's greatest danger. For two hundred years you
have been maintaining through all the history of this City
a position in which you have done constructive work, minis-
tering to the best citizenship of this community. You have
stood in the very front line of battle. You have maintained
your position here in the first line of trenches and you have
not withdrawn when the powers of darkness closed about you ;
but here, at the point where you have been most needed, you
have been and are doing, and I trust with the favor of God
you will continue to do this great work of enlightening the
darkness that surrounds you. ,
I think that we all feel in coming together on a festival
occasion such as this, how deeply the shadows are cast about
our national life at this present time, and through what a
grave crisis we as the people are now passing. This may
escape the man on the street, but the serious, the reflective
person bears the burden of great anxiety and apprehension
of what may come to us as a people in the near future.
On Thanksgiving Day last I happened to take up a book of
addresses of Abraham Lincoln and turned, by suggestion of
the day, to his Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1864. There
was just one idea in that Proclamation which he elaborated,
and just one thing for which he thanked God in the name of
the American people, and that was, that they had been in-
spired and animated by God to show themselves courageous
and resolute in the face of a great national crisis. No men-
tion of the material wealth or abundant prosperity of the land;
he mentioned only the moral and spiritual vigor of the peo-
ple. Some one will say it was natural to emphasize the
moral and spiritual vigor of the people and thank God for
108
it when the country was in such great danger. But I believe
most profoundly that we as a people are tried not only by
the perils of adversity but the more difficult, the more subtle
perils of prosperity, and that at this present day we are
passing through this period of trial. Can we as a people
stand the material prosperity of the present day? Whether
we know it or not, we are being at the present time weighed
in the balance.
I do not know whether you noticed a few weeks ago the
account of the death of a young man, a Lieutenant Butters
of the British Army, who went out from the State of Cali-
fornia to volunteer his services in this great world struggle.
He died in the Somme attack. But just before that attack
he wrote a letter home and that letter was published in our
press. In the letter among other things he said he could not
help but believe — as he expressed it — that they all were gain-
ing a certain honorable advancement for their souls, in that
struggle in which they were engaged. "Honorable advance-
ment for their souls !" Can we say that to-day of the young
men of America through all of their professions, through all of
their business life, through all of their pursuits in this day of
prosperity, that they are gaining an "honorable advancement for
their souls." We know what the men of Europe, those young
men, are gaining to-day. They are gaining a spiritual insight
that they never had before. With all the terrible sacrifices
of the war there is this compensation brought to those who
are engaged in it, help of soul, elevation of spirit. God for-
bid that the young men of our country should be compelled
to pass through such scenes in order to get such a reward.
And, therefore, I feel that this situation is to-day a chal-
lenge to the Church on the one hand and the College on the
other. We are to see to it by all our endeavors, by all our
energies, by a new consecration not only of our activities but
of our thought, that we in some way stir up the young men
of our country to realize their situation, their privilege, their
opportunity and their responsibility. We — this Church, Prince-
ton University, all the institutions of this country of a like
kind — we are all to have a part in the building up of a new
world. And how shall that new world be built?
109
Farseeing men to-day tell us as regards the economic and
industrial world, as regards the political world, that there
is to be one great idea that will dominate Europe, and if
we are to keep pace with Europe it must dominate us. That
idea is the idea of common interest, concentrated along the lines
of concerted action. The day of extreme individualism is
to pass, and pass away forever. We are to work together,
industrially and politically. That is to be the great formative
constructive idea. Can the church contribute anything along
that line? It seems to me that the church has, out of the
very essential idea of Christianity, this contribution to make
to this country, namely, the idea of a common cause, the cause
of truth and of justice, the cause of righteousness — the cause
of the eternal God and His Christ.
One of the writers of the present day in France, perhaps
we may say the most eminent of all the writers of this present
day in any land, because he has just received as recognition
of his brilliant attainments, the Nobel Prize, — looking out from
Europe to-day amidst all the bloodshed, all the disaster of
war, says that it is possible in his opinion to build up out of
all this wreckage — what ? What he is pleased to call the City
of God ! "For the finer spirits of Europe," he writes, "there
are two dwelling places ; one our earthly Fatherland and the
other the City of God. Of the one we are the guests ; of the
other the builders. To the one we must give our lives and
our faithful hearts ; but neither family, nor friend, nor Father-
land, nor aught that we love, is to have ultimate power over
the spirit. The spirit is the life. It is our duty to lift it
above the tempests, to thrust aside the clouds which threaten
to obscure it and build up higher and stronger the walls of
that City wherein the souls of the whole world may assemble."
And taking his idea, is it too much to say that it is possible
for this Church, with concerted action, with all the forces
that make for righteousness in this community, to make of
this City, the City of God ? Some may smile at the characteri-
zation of New York as the City of God. But it is possible,
and if that idea can here by realized, it will be the hope and
the salvation of our nation. But in order that it may be re-
110
alized not only the Church as an organization but the Uni-
versity as an organization, all of us individually, must take
the very serious problem home to ourselves, how we may be
able to simplify our lives so that we may bring them in line
with this great project and to throw all of our energies into
its realization.
You may have noticed a few days ago in a paper describ-
ing the burial of the late Emperor of Austria the pro-
gram of the funeral procession was given somewhat as fol-
lows : — the funeral procession would be halted at the en-
trance to the vault in which are buried all together some one
hundred and thirty-two of the old Hapsburg line. And as
they stop, there is to come a challenge from within, "Who is
there?" Reply will be made, "His Most Serene Majesty the
Emperor Francis Joseph." The challenger will then reply,
"I know him not." Responding to a second challenge, "Who
is there?" the reply will be made, "The Emperor of Austria,
the Apostolic King of Hungary." The challenger will an-
swer, "I know him not." When for the third time the voice
within asks, "Who demands admittance?" the master of cere-
monies is to make reply, "A sinful man, our brother Francis
Joseph." The portals will then swing open and the proces-
sion will enter.
A sinful man before God ! A brother to one's fellowmen !
That is the supreme condition of citizenship in the great "City
of God." Shall we, my friends, wait until we come into
the condition of the late Emperor of Austria at the time of
our death, shall we wait for that day when we are reduced
in the sight of God to our simplest terms? Shall we not
rather seize now upon this idea to confess ourselves sinners in
the sight of God. but brothers to our fellowmen ? Let that idea
rule us, not in the hour of death merely but in the full flood
of life.
Ill
An Address entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND SOCIAL SERVICE
was then delivered by
Mr. Eugenius H. Outerbridge,
President of the New York Chamber of Commerce
On this great anniversary of two hundred years of active
life and service in this community, it is, I think, historically
worth while and also interesting to recall the relations which
the Old First Church and its members have had with social
service activities in this City.
One hundred and sixteen years ago this Church must have
already gained a distinctive position in the community in re-
gard to its sympathies and activities in charitable work on a
large scale, because it was in 1801 that Captain Robert Richard
Randall, at that time a prominent and wealthy resident of New
York City, declared in his will that, for all time, whoever might
be the Pastor of this Church should be one of a small body
of Trustees of his estate, which he was leaving for the estab-
lishment of that wonderful charity known as the Sailors Snug
Harbor; and so it happens that your Pastor, Dr. Howard
Dufifield, has for twenty-five years been one of those Trustees.
Perhaps many of you do not know that Captain Randall's
farm which constituted a large part of the estate which he was
leaving for this purpose, included nearly all of that section
of the City lying on the North side of Washington Square,
up Fifth Avenue to Ninth Street and East to Broadway ; a por-
tion of it extending even to Fourth Avenue.
This densely settled section of the City can hardly now be
thought of as having been a farm. With the care and devel-
opment of that great tract of property, your Pastor has had
to concern himself during the past quarter of a century ; but
what I am sure has interested him much more, has been the
building up of that great Institution on Staten Island for the
care and comfort of aged and infirm seamen, where they
live out the remainder of their lives in this safe and peaceful
harbor, free of all anxiety, with the comforts and indeed
112
luxuries, such as neither the forecastle or the cabin ever pro-
vided in the days of their active sea service.
Similarly also, the founders of the Leake and Watts Orphan
Home in Yonkers provided that your Pastor should be one
of the Trustees of that corporation, and through him this
Church has been and will continue to be a directing influence
in its affairs.
It was one of the members of this Church, Mr. James Lenox,
who donated that splendid block of property between Madison
and Park Avenues, and Seventieth and Seventy-first Streets,
for the founding of the Presbyterian Hospital and upon which
it now stands. The Hospital corporation was organized in
the Old First Lecture Room, and as long as Mr. Lenox lived,
all meetings of the Directors were held there.
Then, having thus provided for the physical needs and care
of the sick and injured, this same generous giver thought of
the intellectual needs of the people and gave to this City the
wonderful Lenox Library.
Coming down through more recent years, the establishment
of industrial classes, the support of convalescent and rest
homes for aged women and many other good works have
signified the broad and helpful activity of this church and its
people in social service work.
Standing here between downtown and uptown, it has felt
the fickle winds of fashion blow over it, and the changing
tides of trade swirl about it, and pass on, leaving its foundation
unshaken and its pov/er for good undisturbed. Here it has
touched, in greater or lesser degree, countless thousands of men
and women, who in these economic changes and in the tur-
moil of their busy and transitory lives, have for a time,
labored around this center and passed on. Here it stands,
never closed, spreading its influence and welcome to all comers
every day in the year. So much for the past.
In conclusion I would like to say just a word for the future.
Situated in perhaps the only part of the city of Greater
New York that may be said to possess a "neighborhood" it
supplies a spiritual and practical center for what, if the peo-
ple of this neighborhood so will it, may become a center of
113
art, literature and religion. A center, which may express by
its people, in its methods of life and in the character of its
buildings, the ideals of cultured but simple living, free from
ostentation and extravagance. In place of ever changing
currents of trade, there may be substituted and perpetuated
here a real civic center, a community life and spirit, a munici-
pal example, which as pictured in the beautiful thought and
words of Dr. Hibben, may make it indeed the First Little
City of God in the City of Greater New York.
An Address entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND EDUCATION
was then delivered by
The Reverend Doctor J. Ross Stevenson,
President of Princeton Theological Seminary
I count it a great honor on this joyous occasion to bring
the greeting of Princeton Seminary, an Institution which has
trained for the Christian ministry six thousand men, the larg-
est number sent out by any American theological institution,
and which has to-day in the service of the church three thou-
sand graduates, and an Institution which owes much in every
way to the Old First Church. It was the Pastor of the Church,
Dr. Samuel Miller, who more than a hundred years ago elo-
quently advocated the establishment of a Presbyterian Semi-
nary. In the Assembly of 1810 he was Chairman of the Com-
mittee, which brought in a report recommending that a Semi-
nary should be established and that it should be located at
Princeton. This Church not only had a voice in the organiza-
tion of our Seminary, but all through the years it has taken
a most active part in its direction and maintenance. Not to
mention gifts for special needs sent in from time to time —
the amounts contributed by members of this Church — the
Lenox family, Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Kennedy and Mrs. Win-
throp — towards grounds, buildings and endowment reach a
grand total of more than two million of dollars. On the
Boards of Directors and Trustees this Church during the en-
tire life of the Institution has been continuously represented.
114
All t±ie Pastors of this Church since 1812 have, with the excep-
tion of Dr. Whelpley, been members of the Seminary direc-
torate. Dr. Duffield's twenty-fifth anniversary as the Pastor
of this Church marks his service of a quarter of a century as
a Princeton Director. For fifty years this Church has been
served continuously by Princeton Seminary graduates. There
are two names which form the strongest links between the
Seminary of the Presbyterian Church and "The Old First,"
Samuel Miller and William M. Paxton. The former resigned
the Pastorate of this Church in 1813 to accept the Professor-
ship of Church Government and Ecclesiastical History in
Princeton Seminary, which position he filled for thirty-six
years. He and Dr. Archibald Alexander are very properly
considered the founders of Princeton Seminary. Dr. Henry
A. Boardman of Philadelphia speaking of the Divine Spirit's
influence in the establishment of the Seminary says, "His
benign agency is especially to be recognized in the selection of
the original Professors. Upon them would depend mainly,
under Providence not only the character of this Seminary,
but the character of future Seminaries to be established in
other parts of the church and indeed the character of our
ministry as a body. Our church can never be sufficiently
grateful to God, that He so ordered events as to place the
institution in the hands of two men who were prominently
qualified for this very responsible trust." Dr. Paxton was
called from the Pastorate of this Church in 1883 to take up
the work of the Chair of Ecclesiastical Homiletical and
Pastoral Theology, and in a faithful and wide-reaching service
he labored for twenty years. The spirit of these two men has
been woven into the very texture of the Seminary's life
and work. Men of strong doctrinal beliefs, clearly appre-
hending the truth as it is in Jesus, and possessing a passion
for its proclamation, they were men of irenic temper, al-
ways solicitious for the peace and harmony of the Church.
When the question of theological training was agitating the
church more than a' hundred years ago, three propositions came
before the General Assembly, first, to establish a Seminary
in each Synod, seven in all ; second, to establish two Semi-
115
naries in such places as might best accommodate the North-
ern and Southern divisions of the Church, and third, to
found one great school in some convenient place. It was
Dr. Miller's advocacy of one Seminary which prevailed, and
the reasons he urged were, the advantage of large funds, a
more extensive library, a greater number of professors, a
system of education, therefore, more extensive and perfect;
the youths educated in it would also be more united in the
same views and contract an early and lasting friendship for
each other, circumstances which could not fail to promote
prosperity and harmony in the church. When the Old and
New School parties arose in the Church the Princeton Pro-
fessors counseled moderation and restraint. Indeed so toler-
ant was their spirit and so close their friendship with some
of the New School men that conservatives in New York took
alarm, and believing that Princeton was about to be captured
by the liberal wing of the Church, they took steps to estab-
lish an Old School Seminary here in New York, going so
far as to select a suitable site, and place funds in the bank
for the undertaking. Dr. Paxton, brought up in the Old
School branch, formed close friendships with New School
colleagues, with Dr. William Adams first of all, for whom
he cherished a boundless reverence, with Doctors Henry B.
Smith, Thomas H. Skinner, Robert H. Booth, Howard Crosby,
Charles H. Robinson. He was a lecturer in Union Seminary
and held a place in the Board of Government. These men
also brought to the Seminary the spirit of a strong and ag-
gressive evangelism. When Dr. Miller began his work as a
teacher he made the solemn resolution "that by the grace of
God, I will not merge my office as a Minister of the Gospel
in that of Professor." Trained for the pulpit he gloried in
preaching and his heart glowed with a passion for souls.
Along with his colleagues, the students of the Seminary, the
President and some earnest students of the College, a day of
fasting and prayer was observed in 1823, in behalf of a greater
religious interest in institutions of higher learning. This
marked the beginning of a revival and inaugurated what is
since known as "The Day of Prayer for Colleges." Dr. Mil-
116
ler's biographer gives us a striking picture of him engaged in
conversation v^^ith Daniel Webster as they journeyed by steam-
boat to Philadelphia. These two men walked up and down the
deck and Mr. Webster listened intently, as the earnest prophet
of the Lord set before him the claims of Jesus Christ. In
like manner Dr. Paxton corresponded with President Bu-
chanan, explaining to him the nature of experimental religion
and the significance of a profession of faith in Christ and
received from him assurance of his trust in the Saviour and
decision to unite with the Church. These men held that
Theological Seminaries are primarily training schools for min-
isters of the Gospel, and whose students should have the spirit
of the original propagators of the faith, known as lovers and
defenders of the truth, and friends of revivals of religion.
And they also imbued the Seminary with missionary interest
and zeal. Due no doubt to Dr. Miller's influence, the original
plan of the Seminary has this aim: *Tt is to found a nursery
for missionaries to the heathen, and to such as are destitute
of the stated preaching of the gospel ; in which, youth may
receive that appropriate training which may lay the founda-
tion for their ultimately becoming eminently qualified for mis-
sionary work." As early as 1829 Dr. Miller and Dr. Alexan-
der and Dr. Hodge advocated the establishment of a Mission-
ary Department in Princeton Seminary. Dr. Miller recorded
in 1823 his resolution to devote himself more earnestly to the
precious cause of missions, domestic and foreign. It was
largely due to his advocacy in 1836, when he laid down the
principle that the Church is a missionary and educational so-
ciety commissioned to send the gospel to every creature and to
train laborers therefor, that our Foreign Mission Board was
organized. He was the first President of this Board and con-
tinued in office until his death. Dr. Paxton was also a mem-
ber, and for a while, the President of this same Board, and
sustained a similar relationship to the Home Board. It is
not surprising, therefore, that Princeton Seminary has sent
more men into missionary service than any other Institution
in our land. The time would fail me to speak of other strong
ties which bind Princeton Seminary to this honored Church.
117
Others have labored, and we who have entered into their labors
can do nothing better and nobler than to make the past a suc-
cess by increasing their heritage, fulfilling their worthy pur-
poses and by following them as they followed Christ.
An Address entitled
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND THE
COMMONWEALTH
was then delivered by
The Honorable Charles S. Whitman
Governor of the State of New York
To-night as I entered the Church, my very old friend Justice
Gofif, our former Recorder, recalled the fact that sometime ago,
at a Presbyterian gathering in the City, the presiding ofificer re-
marked, "Our District Attorney, I know, is entirely at home
in at least two places in this world; one of them is a criminal
courtroom, and the other within the walls of a Presbyterian
church." I grew up in a Presbyterian parsonage. I was
graduated from there to the Criminal Court. I am thor-
oughly familiar with both places ; and I am absolutely sure
that a more intimate association on the part of both would be
better for either.
By virtue of the office, which is likely to be mine for two
years to come, it has been my privilege — and it is a very great
privilege — to be present at gatherings, celebrations, anniver-
saries, centennials of various organizations, civic, social and
religious, in various parts of this State in which we live, and
which we all love. In addressing an organization consecrated
to religious and social activities, as is this organization, and
the hundreds and thousands of other organizations all over
New York, I realize, as I know you do, the tremendous sig-
nificance of what it means when a splendid gathering like
this comes together to celebrate two hundred years of exist-
ence of this Church in this great City. But the real life of
this Church, and of any church as old as this, or as young
as this, is lived not alone within this City where it has stood
for two hundred years, but in the vast numbers of men
118
and women who have gone forth from this Church, and from
hundreds of other churches in this City of New York, who
have been inspired here and in those other churches to noble
lives, reaching and inspiring other lives as they have gone
forth, bringing their wealth of splendid manhood and of splen-
did womanhood to the towns and villages throughout this
State, and to other communities throughout the nation. All
these have been, in a very true sense, making history for the
First Presbyterian Church for two hundred years. It is im-
possible to estimate how much of good has been accomplished
for the Commonwealth, and for this nation, by this organiza-
tion brought into being two hundred years ago.
It is eminently fitting, it seems to me, that one who has a
right, and who is extremely proud of the privilege of repre-
senting all the people of all the State of New York — ten mil-
lions of people or more — should rejoice with you, and should
speak the sentiments which I know animate all people familiar
with the conditions, and would inspire them all, did they but
know the conditions, to rejoice with you and share with you
in this service and on this occasion. We are brothers and
sisters in this great State. We are divided in all kinds of
ways, but after all, notwithstanding all that we say about each
other, we really do love each other. Perhaps no one religious
organization has played a more important part in the civic life
of this City, and of this State, than has this old Church. It
was old even in the days of the Revolution. It did not belong
to a machine ; it was irregular before the Revolution. Being
a dissenting body, they would not even let it have a charter.
It was not recognized at all. It was not an incorporated church
"before the Revolution. Its charter was held by the Presby-
terian Assembly of Scotland. Yes, this Church was owned in
Scotland before the Revolution.
The inscription upon its seal is, at least technically and le-
gally, correct. "The First Church in the Commonwealth of
New York !" A pretty big claim, my friends. Nothing mod-
est about that claim on the part of the First Church. "The
First Church in the Commonwealth of New York!" It
was not the "first church" at all, but it was the first religious
119
organization to receive corporate existence under the first Act
for the Incorporation of Rehgious Societies which was passed
by the first legislature assembled in the State of New York
after New York had become a sovereign State. The first
religious charter given by the first legislature of the State of
New York was given to this Church. There were politicians
before the present generation ; and I have often wondered if
the fact that this Church should have received the first charter
from the first Legislature, was at all due to the other fact that
the Chaplain of that Legislature was the Pastor of this Church.
In revolutionary days, when social and religious organiza-
tions were divided, members of this Church were among the
staunchest friends and supporters of Washington and his
armies. General McDougal, Colonel of the First New York
Infantry, Brigadier General in 1776, Major General in 1777,
was an Elder in this Church all the time. A tablet upon the
wall of this church building recalls the fact that Col. John
Broome, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, was for many
years a consistent and devoted member here ; and the Pastor of
this anything but meek and lowly flock at that time was a
trusted friend of Washington, was the Chaplain of Heath's
fighting brigade and leader of the first Constitutional Conven-
tion ever assembled in this State, of the Committee of Seventy,
and, as I have said before, of the first Legislature of New
York.
At the outbreak of the Revolution three of its members,
leading lawyers of this city, who were consistent and con-
spicuous advocates of the principles which resulted in the
American Revolution — the "Presbyterian Triumvirate," as they
were called — sent a call to Boston and to Philadelphia and
to the South for a convocation of the colonies of the South to
take a stand for American liberty against British invasion of
American rights ; and this, says the historian Bancroft, was
the origin of the call for a Continental Congress. I under-
stand that some of the members of this Church are almost
inclined to claim that the Continental Congress began in the
First Presbyterian Church.
You saw a small portion of my army march up the aisle
to-night. I know that some of you realized at least that this
120
was not the first time that military uniforms had been seen
within the walls or the martial tread of marching feet heard
in the First Church. Its building was used as a barracks for
British soldiers, and as a riding school for the men that were
fighting those who were defending American liberties much
more than a century ago.
I might continue until I should tire you recounting incidents
more of which I presume you have already heard during the
past few days here in this building. Yours is a goodly her-
itage, a proud character. By what this powerful Church has
done in the years that are gone we may know something of its
possibilities during the years that are to come. It has exer-
cised in years gone by a mighty influence in the life of this
splendid commonwealth of New York, not only on account
of its pulpit, which has ever been powerful, as it is to-day,
but as well because its members were actively interested in
the life of the community and the State — at least, they were in
years gone by, — bringing to their duties the inspiring force
of Christian manhood devoted to things that were true, that
were righteous and that were of good report. If this land
of ours is great it is because our souls have been made to
keep pace with our minds, because we have permitted no fatal
breach between our intellect and our ideals. If this greatness
is to continue, if our conviction of our high destiny is to be
realized, there must be no lessening in the importance of our
religious institutions, in the value of ideals, in the militancy of
faith. More than ever before the problems of life demand
that religion shall be part and parcel of life, gaining new and
more vital meaning with every day that passes.
There is no place in this world of ours for a church that
disdains the work of the world and the life of the world. Re-
moteness and aloofness soon become liselessness. I know you
will understand the allusion when I say we do not want our
good churchmen "on the side lines," we want them "in the
game."
It is the history of Christendom from the first, that relig-
ious movements have been marked by interest in human con-
ditions and by fearless and united attack upon evil and upon
121
injustice. I admit no fundamental evil in our national life^
in the life of our City or State. I hold it is good, all of it.
There is not a single injustice that has not been cried out
against, and that will not be remedied when the people come to
realize the power that lies in united attack. To help to bring
about this unity is peculiarly, it seems to me, the work of re-
ligious preachers and religious teachers and religious organ-
izations ; and by your splendid past and present, by the splen-
did service which you have rendered to the State and the land
in the years that have gone by, we measure, and we have a
right to measure, the things that you are abundantly able to
do and the things that you are yet to do for the Common-
wealth of New York and for humanity.
Then was sung the Hymn :
"God bless our native land."
The following Letters were then read by
The Reverend Doctor Marquis.
The White House,
Washington
Shadow Lawn,
October 23, 1916.
My dear Dr. Duffield:
I am complimented by the invitation so kindly conveyed by
your letter of October twentieth to attend the two hundredth
anniversary of the founding of the Old First Presbyterian
Church in the City of New York, but, unhappily, it is impos-
sible for me to accept because the celebration falls at the very
time of the assembling of Congress for the last session of the
64th Congress.
Since I cannot be present in person, will you not accept for
yourself and convey to the officers and members of the Old
First Church my very warm congratulations on the occasion
of the bi-centennial celebration of the founding of the congre-
gation? They certainly have reason to look back with grati-
fication and pride upon a long history of distinguished service
to the community.
Cordially and sincerely yours,
WooDROw Wilson.
122
Sagamore Hill.
November 13th, 1916.
My dear Dr. Duffield:
I thank you for your kind invitation. I greatly regret that
it is out of my power to be present on such an historic occasion.
With all good wishes,
Sincerely yours,
Theodore Roosevelt.
November 7th, 1916.
My dear Dr. Duffield:
I write to congratulate you on the celebration of the Bi-
Centennial of the Old First Presbyterian Church in the city
of New York. The leading part which this old church has
played in ecclesiastical affairs in America for two centuries
makes this celebration of the utmost interest. Its service to
our country during the Revolutionary period, in recruiting
the Sons of Liberty from its membership, and furnishing
many of the officers of the Continental Army, entitle it to the
gratitude of all Americans. Such an historic heritage as that
you have is exceptional among churches, and you are right to
cherish it. I am sorry I can not be with you to join in the
celebration, which I hope will be a great success.
Sincerely yours,
Wm. H, Taft.
A Greeting from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States was then delivered
By the Moderator
The Reverend Doctor John A. Marquis
It is my privilege to convey to the Pastor, the Officers and
Members of this historic Church the Greetings of the Gen-
eral Assembly of that Communion, in whose history this Church
has played so conspicuous a part. You have a great past, a
past full of noble service and of glorious deeds; but you also
have a future, of- which we are desirous to congratulate you
as well as upon your great record. The past with its ser-
vices rendered to both the Kingdom of Christ and the coun-
123
try is magnificent, but we believe the future is going to be
finer still, in service to the country, the city, and to the whole
Church of Jesus Christ.
You have had the courage to stay downtown, when you
might have gone to a more promising section uptown ; and
for that courage we greet you and congratulate you to-night,
and take pride in you. You have a chance here to find the
solution to a very difficult problem, one of the most difficult
confronting the Church to-day ; that of making the Church
what it ought to be in a downtown district. The frontier of
the gospel to-day is not on the plains. It is not in the Rocky
Mountains. It is in the dividing line between Uptown and
Downtown in our great cities.
You began as a pioneer Church two hundred years ago.
You are a pioneer Church to-day in remaining in a great un-
captured section of the City into which the Church must ere
long find an opening.
We trust you will find the key to making the Church a
home in this downtown community, a place of warmth and
sympathy, a place of invitation, of Christian experience and
uplifting worship to the whole community.
I often think of this Church and of Trinity on lower Broad-
way, as oases in the great wilderness of granite clififs about
them; places where the grass is green, where there is an at-
mosphere radiating welcome and invitation. I have seen
churches in some of our cities whose only announcement or
sign on the outside, visible to the naked eye, was the address
of the undertaker. I am sure that the outside of this Church
is going to present a vastly dififerent front to the community.
What greater service can you render to the community or
to the Kingdom of Christ than to make the people round
about feel that here is a spot where they can think of higher
things, where there is warmth and cheer and help, that after
all this is a good community to live in, and in which they can
safely train their children. In a good many of the Western
cities they have what is called a "booster" committee, the
business of which is to convince everybody in the world out-
side, that that particular town is the best place on the planet
124
for sensible people to live in, — with what regard for the truth I
shall not say. At any rate they are performing a psychological
service to the community, making people satisfied to be there,
glad to be there, to live their lives, and rear their children.
It works for contentment, for peace, for law and order, for
public improvement and public spirit in everything. This is
what a Church should be; a leaven to make people contented,
and happy, to make them proud of their situation and work in
life. This Church has a great chance here in the heart of the
world's metropolis to show the rest of us how to find the solu-
tion of what we call the downtown problem.
I greet you and congratulate you in the name of Presby-
terians everywhere. I assure you of our prayers and our
good wishes as you enter the third century of your history of
service to the Kingdom and the Country.
Then the Apostles' Creed was recited by the People, a Collect
was read by the Pastor, and Dr. Mendenhall pronounced the
Benediction.
The Procession then reformed and returned to the Chapel
singing as a Recessional Hymn,
"Forward be our watchword."
125
THE PASTOR'S XXVth ANNIVERSARY
Thursday, December the Seventh, 8 P. M.
The Organ Recital
Soon after Doctor Duffield had been installed in the pastor-
ate of the Old First Church, William C. Carl was engaged as
Organist and Choir Master. Doctor Duffield began his work
the first Sunday of December, 1891, and Mr. Carl entered upon
his duties the second Sunday of March, 1892. From the
outset Mr. Carl cooperated with the Pastor most sympa-
thetically and helpfully, consulting his wishes in every par-
ticular, carrying out perfectly his every suggestion, and lend-
ing his aid in every way in his power to assist in promoting
the welfare of the Church. By untiring effort, as well as mas-
terly ability in his art, he has developed the musical interests
of the Church, establishing them upon a high level and greatly
enlarging their scope. The character of his work commanded
such public recognition that the University of the City of New
York conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Music.
The musical features of the Bi-Centennial Celebration were
planned with great care, prepared for with painstaking thor-
oughness and executed with notable skill — contributing in a
marked degree to the impressiveness of the Festival Services.
With characteristic courtesy. Dr. Carl tendered the Pastor a
special Recital in honor of the "Twenty-fifth Anniversary of
the Pastorate." This was given on the evening of Thursday,
the seventh of December. The program consisted entirely of
excerpts from Wagner's "Parsifal," christened by the com-
poser a "Stage Consecrating Drama." The following numbers
were rendered, illustrating the theme of the drama, and the
unfolding of its plot:
The Prelude
The Entry to the Hall of the Grail
The Lament of Amfortas
126
THE TiEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A'-^TOR, LENOX
•■■'[D-;J FC'Jr-DATIONS
The Voice from on High.
The Chorus of the Flower Maidens
The Narrative of Kundry
The Good Friday Spell
The March of the Grail Knights
Assisting Doctor Carl were the following artists :
Margaret Harrison, Soprano
Andrea Sarto, Bass
Alix Young Maruchess, Violinist
William G. Reddick, Pianist
William Irving Nevins, Chimes.
Comments upon the work were read by Doctor DufBeld from
a monograph which he had written upon "Parsifal." The en-
tire performance was of unique interest. The Organist inter-
preted the marvelous music with rare force and charm. The
artists who assisted him rose to the severe demands upon their
skill. The audience, which crowded the Church to its capac-
ity, gave every evidence of keen satisfaction and appreciation.
The event was in every way worthy of the occasion — in
idea, in execution and in spirit. The very selection of "Par-
sifal" for a Recital which was to be a tribute to the fellow-
ship between art and religion was peculiarly happy. The
remarkable saturation of this noble work with the devotional
spirit was emphasized by Dr. Duffield, who, among other re-
marks, said: "The Feast of the Grail in 'Parsifal' is a compos-
ite symbol invented by the author of the work to lay stress upon
the idea of the redemption of humanity through atoning sacri-
fice, which is the tap-root of all religious thinking. On this
point let Wagner speak for himself : "It is the function of art to
preserve the inner kernel of religion ; and the way it does this is
to take the mythical symbols which religion insists on having
men believe in their literal sense ; to conceive them in their em-
blematic sense ; and by ideal representation to call attention
to the deep truth which is concealed within them." The spirit
of intense religiousness with which this drama is saturated,
and the noble forms in which it finds expression, would seem
to have opened to the Church an inviting opportunity. Every
127
friend of the truth may well rejoice from the heart, that the
lyric stage has been so uplifted that the presentation of such
a work is possible, a veritable "stage consecrating play," con-
verting the opera house into a pulpit for the publication of
the noblest themes to moved and reverent throngs; and stir-
ring to its depths the universal heart, by the exhibition of eter-
nal verities. It is a spectacle to command the Church's grate-
ful and sympathetic approbation, to behold a mighty genius
tasking his rare powers and enlisting every resource of all the
arts, to bear witness to the splendor and the sovereignty of the
vital elements in the doctrine of the Christ, those very truths
which the Church exists to publish. Such a unique product of
mental power as "Parsifal" is a mighty apologetic for Chris-
tianity, and its author an ally whose service the Church should
gladly hail, in the age-long effort to emancipate humanity from
its woe, and to brighten this sad earth."
128
THE PASTOR'S XXVth ANNIVERSARY
Friday, December the Eighth, 8.30 to 10.30 P. M.
The Church Reception
Twenty-five years as Pastor of one Church, guiding it from
uncertainty into security, is a goodly record. Among the
brightest spots in that whole successful period is this Bi-Cen-
tennial Celebration, and the most personal and intimate event
of that Celebration, was the Reception on December the eighth,
given by the Members and Friends of the Old First Church to
Doctor and Mrs. Duffield.
By a happy coincidence Doctor Duffield rounded out the
Quarter Century of his pastorate at the very time the Church
completed the Second Century of its work. The Twenty-fifth
Anniversary of their coming was made the occasion of a heart
stirring expression of the Church's love and loyalty to the
Pastor and his Wife.
The Reception was one of the most impressive events of the
kind ever held in the Old First Church. The Chapel was
beautifully decorated. The Officers and Members of the
Church with their friends and neighbors filled the room with
a glad assemblage. The bright faces and glad voices charged
the atmosphere with a contagion of rejoicing. The spirit of
thanksgiving and congratulation throbbed in every heart.
During the earlier part of the evening Doctor and Mrs. Duffield
played the part of host and hostess and received all the guests,
each of whom shook hands and expressed their good wishes
with characteristic Old First warmth and enthusiasm. Near
them on the platform where they stood was a large and beau-
tiful model of the Church, its Tower rising to the height of
at least three feet. Illumined by electric light and surrounded
by a grove of palms and ferns, it added a uniquely interesting
feature to the Festival. Following the Greeting Period, Mr.
Henry Miller, a member of the Choir, sang with fine effect a
group of "Songs of our Forefathers." Miss Maud Morgan,
who has so endeared herself to the Church by her winning
129
personality, as well as her marvellous skill as an artist, ren-
dered several beautiful selections upon the harp,
Mr. Jaquith then announced that there would be a Roll Call
of the Members of the Church. First he read the names of
all those who sent no reply to the letter he wrote them, and in
which he requested that they answer and let him know wheth-
er or not they could attend the Reception. It was suggested
that if any of these were present, that they be brave enough to
stand up and announce their presence. Several of those who
had forgotten to answer the letter had come. Then he read the
names of those who sent a message saying that they could
not come. One was read from Mrs. Fairchild, a member for
more than fifty years; another from Miss Greenleaf, whose
membership neared the mark of sixty-five years ; another let-
ter was from a young man who was out on the border, but
whose heart was right here ! This was followed by the Roll
Call of those who had responded and who were present.
After another musical number. Doctor and Mrs. Duffield
were asked to step to the door. Twenty-five of the young
ladies of the Church, each with an annunciation lily in her hand,
entered and, crossing the back of the room, lined up on either
side of the center aisle. Raising their lilies and crossing them,
as soldiers cross their swords at a military wedding, they
formed a floral arcade, through which Doctor and Mrs. Duf-
field passed to the platform. As they walked between the lines
Dr. Carl played the chimes, producing a most beautiful effect.
Colonel Olmstead awaited Doctor and Mrs. Duffield at the plat-
form and in a masterly address voiced with rare eloquence and
tender feeling the people's grateful appreciation of all that
their Pastor had been to them and their deep and abiding
aflfection for him.
Colonel Olmstead said :
"Dear Doctor Duffield :
"Many years ago, in a Southern city, it fell to my lot to
express for a congregation of grateful people their affection
for a beloved Pastor upon the 25th anniversary of his pas-
torate.
130
To-night that experience is repeated for me. It is now
my happy privilege to speak for this people, your people, to
tell you in their behalf, how deeply their hearts are stirred
by this occasion, how warm their sympathy with the emotions
that must fill your breast, how sincere their thankfulness to
Almighty God that the bond which unites you to themselves,
which was created twenty-five years ago, has grown in strength
and vigor with the passage of time and now knits our hearts
together indissolubly.
Twenty-five years — how short a period in the history of a
world, yet how long to the individual experience. We look
back upon our own lives, and to each one of us the retrospect
lengthens as the mind dwells on details without number. The
hours and days and months and years have been so full that we
measure them no more by the ordinary standards of time, but
rather by what they have brought to us of joy or sorrow, hap-
piness or care, prosperity or adversity. If this be so with
each individual one of us, much more with you who in addi-
tion to the happenings of your daily life have been called upon
through sympathy and because of your holy office, to bear our
burdens and trials as well. And if, perchance, this has made
the years seem long to you there is the all compensating circum-
stance that the slender tie of 1891 has become the riveted steel
of 1916.
We congratulate you, dear Pastor, upon all that has been
accomplished for the material interests of the Church during
these twenty-five years, recognizing that the result has been
due to your personal effort. It is a thing for you to be proud
of, and for us to be grateful for. But most of all do we bless
God that, throughout your ministry amongst us, the Cross of
Christ has been preached with faithfulness and power. From
your lips we have heard no uncertain sound, no fanciful doc-
trine, no strained interpretation of the Scriptures, but 'the
pure milk of the Word,' continuous demonstrations of 'the
faith once delivered to the Saints.'
We congratulate you, also, upon the coincidence between your
anniversary and the Two Hundredth Anniversary of this dear
Church. Fitting is it that they should fall together, to remind
131
us that as we now look back upon the saintly labors of the
long line of consecrated men who dug deep these founda-
tions and reared high this bulwark against sin and unright-
eousness— even so future generations will revert to this, your
era, with hearts aflame with gratitude to God.
Because of these things, beloved Pastor, your people find
it impossible to permit this occasion to pass without some tan-
gible expression of their love and appreciation. And be-
cause it is desired that the Dear Lady who stands by your side
(she who in her own way has been a joint minister with you
through all these years), because we wish her to share in what
is going out from our hearts to you, I am commissioned to
ask your acceptance of a gift that may brighten and beautify
the domestic board, that center of the home, where her grace-
ful hospitality has so charmed in the days that are past, and
will continue to charm in the days to come. The Committee
upon whom devolved the selection of the gift, found, after it
had been provided, that more and more of the congregation
were wishful to take part in this expression of affection.
Their later contributions have been put into the pure gold
'coin of the realm' fit emblem of the purity and strength of
their feeling for you.
My dear Pastor, in many a man's life there is found a sea-
son of storm and trial when rivers of affliction seem to sweep
him away from everything fixed and stable, out into a shore-
less ocean, where waves and billows of adversity overwhelm
and beat upon his head. God grant that such may never be
your portion, but that happiness alone may fill up the measure
of your days.
Yet come what will, come what may, your people would
point, in evidence of their unfailing affection, to the words
engraved upon one of these pieces of silver, 'Many waters
cannot quench Love.' All things else may pass away and
come to naught, but our love for you is abiding. Love is of
God, the sweet antidote for every sorrow of earth, the eternal
joy of heaven."
"Many waters cannot quench Love."
132
At the close of his speech he presented them with a beautiful
sterling silver Tea Set, four Candle-sticks and a Purse of one
hundred and fifty dollars in gold. The following words were
inscribed on the Tea Pot, "Many waters cannot quench love."
In a brief response Dr. Duffield spoke of the sheer
impossibility of putting into speech the emotions which such
circumstances awakened, referred to the days of stress and
strain through which he and the people had passed, and which
had welded them together in bonds of peculiar intimacy, em-
phasized the fact that to the manifest interposition of God was
due the deliverance of the Church from the perils with which
it had been menaced, noted the large share which Mrs. Duf-
field had taken in bearing burdens, and inspiring courage in
the dark hours, and reminded the people that she was a gift
to him from the Old First, felicitated the congregation upon
the circumstances which made their entrance upon the third
century of the Church's ministry so fraught with promise,
expressed his deep gratitude at having been permitted to serve
with them for so long a term of years, and the hope that he
would be able, during whatever time of service might yet re-
main for him, to put into deeds the story of his love for them,
which he could never put into words.
As the flower girls returned to the back of the room, each
one presented Mrs. Duffield with her lily, making one blos-
som for each of the twenty-five years that Doctor and Mrs.
Duffield had been connected with the Old First. Refreshments
were served, followed by a short social hour of heart warm-
ing fellowship, which crowned an evening never to be for-
gotten.
133
CONSECRATION DAY
Sunday, December the Tenth, 11 A. M.
The Holy Communion
So far as was possible, the entire membership of the Church,
both those in active service and those who had removed be-
yond its bounds, but retained affiHation with it, were notified
of this proposed regathering of the family at the Communion
Table, and were urged to make a special effort to be present.
Invitations were also sent to those associated with the
Church in former times, whose names and work were ever
cherished in the Church's recollection. The response was
large and sympathetic. The congregation which assembled
for this tender service, to express their adoring sense of the
divine goodness, and to render their fealty to the God of their
fathers, filled the Church, and was representative of the vari-
ous circles to whom the Old First Church was a golden center
of life. Doctor Duffield was assisted in the celebration of the
Communion by the Reverend Doctor Robert Mackenzie, Secre-
tary of the College Board, and the Reverend Doctor James
Oscar Boyd, Pastor of the Church of the Redeemer, Paterson,
New Jersey. Dr. Mackenzie had ministered to the Church
so steadily during the long illness of Doctor Duffield that a
feeling of pastoral relationship had grown up between the
People and himself. Doctor Boyd was the one son of the
Church who had entered the gospel ministry during the pres-
ent pastorate, and his honored father had been an Elder in
the first days of Doctor Duffield's New York ministry, a wise
counsellor, an efficient worker, and a true friend.
Mr. Robert Ferguson, who occupied a chair in the Session
during the opening of the pastorate, and had upheld the Pas-
tor's hands during many of its most trying hours, was happily
present, and aided in the distribution of the elements, as did
Doctor Benjamin G. Demarest, whose devotion to the Church,
and enthusiastic desire to promote its interests, found expres-
134
sion in the gift of the Huguenot Window. The Members of
the Session present and assisting in the Celebration of the
Sacrament were, Mr. James K. Andrews, Mr. Paul Caldwell,
Mr. Charles E. Davis, Mr. James Henry, Mr. Henry C. Martin,
Mr. Robert G. Parr, Mr. Roger H. Williams.
At eleven o'clock, while a beautiful chorale of Bach's was
being played upon the organ, the Ministers and Elders entered
the Church through the Chapel Door, Doctor Mackenzie tak-
ing the large chair, North of the pulpit, Doctor Boyd that upon
the South side, Doctor Duffield the Chair at the right side of
the table, and the members of the Session their accustomed
seats.
The opening services, including the Institution of the Sacra-
ment and the Invitation to the Table, were conducted by the
Pastor. Doctor Boyd and Doctor Mackenzie then took the
seats at either end of the Communion Table, Doctor Dufifield
occupying the chair vacated by Doctor Boyd. After the
quotation of appropriate Scripture and a Consecrating Prayer,
Doctor Boyd distributed the Bread. A moving address was
made by Doctor Mackenzie, who then distributed the Wine,
and closed the Celebration with a Prayer of Thanksgiving.
After Christ's "Benediction of Peace" had been sung by the
Choir, Doctor Duffield took his place behind the Table, and
spoke a few sentences concerning the "Communion of Saints,"
emphasizing the presence and participation in all these services
of that great "cloud of witnesses" who through the long years
of two centuries had given themselves to its work, and of whose
prayers and faith and sacrifice this great festival of the
Church's Bi-Centennial was the happy fruition.
The Sacramental Service was concluded with the Apostolic
Benediction, "Now the God of Peace, that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you per-
fect in every good work to do His will, working in you that
which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
135
CONSECRATION DAY
Sunday, December the Tenth, 8 P. M.
The Choral Service
The Bi-Centennial Week closed with the "sevenfold sym-
phonies and harping hallelujahs" of "The Messiah." The eve-
ning of Sunday, December the eleventh, was set apart for the
rendering of Handel's masterpiece. The Choir, who by their
whole-souled and thorough work had so greatly enriched the
Anniversary Services, was for this occasion largely augmented,
their number being doubled. Solo singers of distinguished
ability had been secured. Bechtel Alcock, Tenor; Miss Mar-
garet Harrison, Soprano; Miss Merle Alcock, Contralto, and
Mr. Henry Miller, Bass.
This Service was presided over by the Reverend Doctor
Edward M. Deems, Chaplain of the Sailors' Snug Harbor, to
which Institution the Old First Church stands in such close
historic relations. With him in the Pulpit, were the Reverend
Doctor Mackenzie, the Reverend Doctor Boyd, and the Pastor
of the Old First Church. Opening the Service with a Scrip-
tural Salutation, Doctor Deems read as a Scripture Lesson the
One Hundred and Fifteenth Psalm and pronounced the fol-
lowing Collect, with which it is the custom at the Old First
Church to preface all Choral Services and Organ Recitals:
"O God Almighty, and All Loving, Who hast given us
hearts that hunger for beauty, and Who by the voice of music
doth speak to our souls messages that are sweet and wonder-
ful and passing the power of words, make us grateful to Thee
for the privilege of this hour, and cause its influences to bright-
en and enrich our lives, and to bring them into harmony with
Thy life. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen."
136
The following numbers of the Oratorio were then ren-
dered :
Overture
Comfort ye my people. Rejoice greatly.
Every valley shall be exalted. He shall feed his flock.
And the glory of the Lord. Come unto Him.
Thus saith the Lord. His yoke is easy.
But who may abide. He was despised.
O thou that tellest. Lift up your heads.
For unto us a child is born. Why do the nations.
Pastoral Symphony. Since by man came death.
There were Shepherds. By man also came the Resur-
Glory to God. rection.
I know that My Redeemer
liveth.
Hallelujah Chorus
The solemn dignity of the old Gothic interior, the power
and beauty of the familiar words and the well known har-
monies, the sympathetic and skilful interpretations of the sing-
ers, the intelligent and masterful accompaniment, and leading
of the Musical Director, and the uplifting consciousness of the
occasion, blended in a presentation of "The Messiah" that car-
ried its sublime message home to every heart. The exalted
devotional feeling which took possession of the great congre-
gation of listeners was remarkable. The art of the composer,
and the skill of the performers, were alike forgotten in the deep
emotion with which all were stirred by the spiritual content of
the Oratorio.
The Hallelujah Chorus had been transposed from its place
in the body of the work and made the closing number of this
service. As the trumpet-like notes of the introduction sounded
the throng rose. As the thrilling and triumphant "Hallelu-
jahs" ceased, instead of pronouncing the customary Benedic-
tion, Doctor Duffield spoke the following words :
" 'And they saw no man — save Jesus only.' During this
wonderful week the names of great leaders have been upon
our lips. The forms of devoted servants of the cross have
Been in our thought. We have had a vision of that vast com-
137
pany of men and women and little children who, with courage
and patience, with prayer and toil, through two hundred years,
have held high in this mighty City the banner of the cross.
This octave of services reaches its climax in this matchless song
to the "Messiah." At the closing moment of this Celebration,
all names pale before one, as the brightness of the stars is hid-
den in the splendor of the sun. One name alone thrills our
souls, that name long ago written upon Calvary's cross, that
name which bye and bye all intelligent being shall ac-
claim with hallelujahs. One form alone enthralls our souls,
the form of Him for whom our fathers lived and died, of Him
whom we love and whom we serve, of Him to whom this
Church shall render its homage and its ministry until time shall
be no more. With the voices of the past thrilling our hearts,
with the call of the future kindling our enthusiasms, we join
the song of the ages, we anticipate the anthem of the skies,
and cry — 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power
and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and
blessing, forever and forever. Amen and Amen."
Thus, with ascriptions of praise to the Divine Christ, the Old
First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York entered
upon the Third Century of its ministry.
138
THE SUPPLEMENT
139
MINUTE ADOPTED BY THE
Presbytery of New York and Sent to Every Presbyterian
Minister in the City
October 31st, 1916.
Dear Brother:
This year the First Presbyterian Church of this City will
celebrate the 200th Anniversary of its founding, and the estab-
Hshment of Presbyterianism in New York City. Presbytery
feels that such an important event should be noted by all the
congregations under its care and to this end the following
program has been adopted:
On Sunday, December 3rd, in the Old First Church
at the morning service the Moderator of Presby-
tery will preside and there will be an historical sermon
by the Pastor, Rev. Howard Duffield, D.D. In the
evening in the same Church there will be a sermon
commemorative of the Ministers who have served in
the Old First pulpit. On this same day Presbytery
requests that all the churches of this Presbytery, as
far as possible, note this important event by histor-
ical sermons or by such references as shall impress
upon the minds and hearts of the people the spirit of
Presbyterianism.
Presbytery has decided to unite with the Presby-
terian Union at its Annual Dinner, December 4th,
in the celebration of this Anniversary.
Presbytery recommends that on Wednesday, De-
cember 6th, at eight o'clock, an Anniversary Service
be held in the First Church in which the wide spread
and varied influence of the Church be reviewed by
representative speakers. Presbytery is to attend this
service in a body and it is to be regarded as the mid-
week meeting for the Churches.
By Order of Presbytery,
Fraternally yours,
Jesse F. Forbes,
Stated Clerk.
141
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE OLD FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December, Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen
The Pastor of the Church,
The Reverend Doctor Howard Duffield.
The Assistant to the Pastor,
Mr. Harold C. Jaquith.
The Session,
Colonel Charles H. Olmstead, Clerk.
Roger H. Williams, Treasurer.
James K. Andrews. James Henry.
Paul Caldwell. Henry C. Martin.
Robert G. Parr.
The Board of Trustees,
The Pastor and the Ruling Elders.
Roger H. Williams, Secretary.
James Henry, Treasurer.
The Board of Deacons,
J. Randolph Graham, M.D., Chairman.
James W. Durkee, Clerk.
Charles L. Thorne, Treasurer.
Ferdinand Aufmkolk. Henry Hamilton.
Harry Best. Frank D. Hutchins.
Elmore A. Hall. Robert H. McGowan.
W. Whitman Neilson. J. R. K. Sharp.
The Church Visitor,
Miss Alice Salt.
Organist and Musical Diretcor,
Dr. William C. Carl.
Soloists,
Miss Margaret Harrison, Soprano.
Mr. Henry Miller, Baritone.
142
Sexton,
Benjamin W. Lewis.
Societies and Clubs,
Graded Bible School — Classes for all ages.
Christian Endeavor Society — President Miss Gallagher.
Junior Endeavor Society — Leader, Miss Salt.
Women's Missionary Society — President Mrs. Duffield.
Mothers' Meeting — Leader, Miss Salt.
Industrial School — Superintendent, Mrs. Duffield.
Women's Work Meeting — First Directress, Miss Evans.
Old First Girls' Club — President, Miss Cushier
Senior Girls' Club — Girls from 16-20.
Intermediate Girls' Club — Girls from 14-16.
Old First Fraternity — Young men over 18.
Senior Boys' Club — Boys from 16-18.
Intermediate Boys' Club — Boys 14-16, Mr. Duncan Ferris.
E. H. T. Boys' Club — Boys from 12-15, Mr. Harry Schroeder.
Junior Boys' Club — Boys under 14, Ferdinand Aufmkolk.
The Flower Committee,
Mrs. Wilking B. Cooley, Chairman.
Miss Elizabeth Davis. Miss Pansy Fiske.
Miss Winifred Duffield. Miss Rhoda Geddes.
Holy Communion
The Holy Communion will be celebrated at 11 A. M. on the
second Sunday of February, April, June, October and De-
cember, and at 8 P. M. on the second Sunday of January,
March, May and November. The Sacrament of Baptism will
be administered in connection with any Service if due notice
be given to the Pastor.
143
THE INVITED GUESTS
The Honorable Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States.
The Honorable Theodore Roosevelt,
Ex-President of the United States.
The Honorable William Howard Taft,
Ex-President of the United States.
Major General Hugh Lenox Scott,
Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
Major General Leonard Wood and Staff.
Rear Admiral Nathaniel L. Usher and Staff.
The Honorable Charles S. Whitman and Staff.
Governor of the State of New York.
The Honorable John Purroy Mitchel,
Mayor of the City of New York.
Mr. Eugenius H. Outerbridge,
President of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Heads of Departments of the Municipal Government.
The President of the Board of Aldermen.
The Justices of the Supreme Court.
The Judges of the Appellate Division.
The Judges of the Court of General Sessions.
Doctor John H. Finley,
Commissioner of Education in the State of New York.
Nicholas Murray Butler, LL.D.,
President of Columbia University.
Chancellor Ellsworth Elmer Brown, LL.D.
President of the University of the City of New York.
Sidney Mezes, LL.D.,
President of the College of the City of New York.
The Reverend Doctor John Grier Hibben, D.D., LL.D.,
President of Princeton University.
The Reverend Doctor Charles Alexander Richmond,
D.D.,
President of Union College.
The Reverend Doctor J. Ross Stevenson, D.D., LL.D.,
President of Princeton Theological Seminary.
144
The Board of Directors, Trustees and Faculty of
Princeton Theological Seminary.
The Board of Directors, Trustees and Faculty of
Union Theological Seminary.
The Brick Presbyterian Church.
The Rutgers Presbyterian Church.
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.
The Spring Street Presbyterian Church.
The Presbyterian Church on University Place.
The Greenwich Presbyterian Church.
The Reverend Doctor David James Burrell, D.D., LL.D.,
Senior Minister of the Collegiate Reformed Church, and a
Delegation of its Ministers.
The Pastor of the French Huguenot Church
and his Officers and People.
The Right Reverend David Greer, D.D., LL.D.,
Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and a
Delegation of his Clergy.
The Reverend Doctor Luther B. Wilson, D.D., LL.D.,
Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a
Delegation of his Clergy.
The Lutheran Churches.
The Baptist Churches.
The Congregational Churches.
The Young Men's Christian Association.
The Salvation Army.
The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
The Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
The Board of Church Erection of the Presbyterian Church.
The College Board of the Presbyterian Church.
The American Bible Society.
The New York City Bible Society.
The City Mission Society.
The Seamen's Friend Society.
The Port Society.
The Marine Society.
The Society of Mayflower Descendants.
The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New York.
145
The Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York.
The Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New Jersey.
The Society of the Cincinnati.
The Society of the Sons of the Revolution.
The Knickerbocker Chapter D. A. R.
The Military Society of the War of 1812, and
The Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York.
The Huguenot Society of America.
The Holland Society.
Saint Nicholas Society.
Saint Andrews Society.
Saint David's Society.
Saint George's Society.
The New York Historical Society.
The City Historical Society.
The City History Club.
The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society.
The Washington Square Association.
146
THE ORDER OF THE PROCESSION
AT THE FESTIVAL SERVICE
Wednesday, December the Sixth, 1917, 8 P. M.
I.
The Reverend Doctor Howard Duffield,
Minister of the Old First Presbyterian Church.
II.
The Presbytery of New York.
III.
The Officers and Members of Churches Colonized from the
Old First Church.
IV.
The Officers of the Boards of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America.
V.
The Representatives of Religious and Philanthropic Societies.
VI.
The Delegates from other Communions.
VII.
The Pastors of Pre-Revolutionary Churches.
VIII.
The Speakers and Their Escorts
The Reverend Doctor George F. Nelson, Canon of the
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, representing
The Right Reverend Doctor David H. Greer, Bishop of
the Episcopal Diocese of New York, escorted by Mr. Law.
The Reverend Doctor Luther B. Wilson, Bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, escorted by Mr. Sharpe.
Mr. Eugenius H. Outerbridge, President of the New York
Chamber of Commerce, escorted by Dr. Demarest.
147
The Reverend Doctor George Alexander, Pastor of the
Presbyterian Church on University Place, escorted by
Mr. Davis.
The Reverend Doctor William Pierson Merrill, Pastor
of the Brick Presbyterian Church, escorted by Mr. Parr.
The Reverend Doctor John Grier Hibben, President of
Princeton University, escorted by Mr. WiUiams.
The Reverend Doctor J. Ross Stevenson, President of
Princeton Theological Seminary, escorted by Mr. Henry.
The Reverend George J. Russell, Moderator of the
Presbytery of Long Island, escorted by Mr. Martin.
The Reverend Doctor Harlan G. Mendenhall, Moderator
of the Synod and the Presbytery of New York, escorted
by Mr. Thome.
The Honorable Charles S. Whitman, Governor of the
State of New York, escorted by Mr. Andrews.
The Reverend Doctor John A. Marquis, Moderator of the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America, escorted by Colonel Olmstead.
148
THE ORDER OF WORSHIP
AT THE FESTIVAL SERVICE
Wednesday, December the Sixth, at Eight P. M.
Organ — Reformation Symphony, . . . Mendelssohn
Processional —
Through the night of doubt and sorrow
Onward goes the pilgrim band.
Singing songs of expectation,
Marching to the promised land ;
Clear before us through the darkness,
Gleams and burns the guiding light;
Brother clasps the hand of brother,
Stepping fearless through the night.
One the light of God's own presence
O'er His ransomed people shed,
Chasing far the gloom and terror,
Brightening all the path we tread,
One the object of our journey.
One the faith that never tires,
One the earnest looking forward.
One the hope our God inspires :
One the strain that lips of thousands
Lift as from the heart of one,
One the conflict, one the peril
One the march in God begun ;
One the gladness of rejoicing
On the far eternal shore
Where the One Almighty Father
Reigns in love for evermore.
149
Onward, therefore, pilgrim brothers,
Onward, with the cross our aid ;
Bear its shame, and fight its battle,
Till we rest beneath its shade ;
Soon shall come the great awakening,
Soon the rending of the tomb ;
Then the scattering of all shadows,
And the end of toil and gloom. Amen.
The Minister shall begin the Service by pronouncing the
follozving Salutation, the People standing:
The Lord bless thee and keep thee.
The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious
unto thee.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee
peace. Amen.
Then the Minister shall read the following Sentences :
God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth.
Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted and Thou didst
deliver them.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless
His holy name. Amen.
Then the Minister shall read the following Responses :
The Lord be with you
And with thy Spirit.
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God
It is meet and right so to do.
Then the Minister and the People shall say the Lord's Prayer :
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven ;
give us this day our daily bread ; and forgive us our tres-
passes, as we forgive those who trespass against us ; and lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for Thine is
the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
150
Then shall be sung by the Choir the Ancient Canticle,
known as the "Ter-Sanctus."
"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory,
Glory be to Thee, O Lord Most High, Amen."
Then shall be read responsively this Selection from the
Psalter, followed by the Gloria Patri :
I will extol thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy
name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name
forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ; and His great-
ness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall
declare thy mighty acts.
I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, and of
Thy wondrous works.
And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts; and
I will declare Thy greatness.
They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great good-
ness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger
and of great mercy.
The Lord is good to all ; and his tender mercies are over all
his works.
All Thy works shall praise Thee; O Lord; and Thy saints
shall bless Thee.
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of
Thy power.
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the
glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion
endureth throughout all generations.
The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those
that be bowed down.
The eyes of all wait upon Thee ; and Thou givest them their
meat in due season.
151
Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every
living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His
works.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that
call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He will
also hear their cry, and will save them.
The Lord preserveth all them that love Him: hut all the
wicked will He destroy.
My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all
flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.
Glory he to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Ghost;
As it was in the he ginning, is now, and ever shall he; world
without end. Amen.
Then shall the Minister offer the following Prayer of
Thanksgiving:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we Thine unworthy
servants do give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for all
Thy goodness and loving kindness to us, and to all men. We
bless Thee for our creation, preservation and all the blessings
of this life; above all for Thine inestimable love in the re-
demption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the
means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And we beseech
Thee give us that due sense of all Thy mercies that our
hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth
Thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives ; by giving
up ourselves to Thy service, and by walking before Thee in
holiness and righteousness all our days ; through Jesus Christ
Our Lord, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all
honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
After that shall he sung the following Hymn:
O where are kings and empires now
Of old that went and came?
But, Lord, Thy Church is praying yet,
A thousand years the same.
152
We mark her goodly battlements,
And her foundations strong;
We hear within the solemn voice
Of her unending song.
For not like kingdoms of the world
Thy Holy Church, O God ;
Though earthquake shocks are threatening her
And tempests are abroad ;
Unshaken as eternal hills,
Immovable she stands,
A mountain that shall fill the earth,
A house not made by hands.
Then shall the follozving Anniversary Addresses be delivered:
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND HER CHILDREN,
The Rev. Dr. William Pierson Merrill,
Minister of the Brick Presbyterian Church.
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND THE WINNING OF
THE WORLD,
The Rev. Dr. George Alexander,
President of the Board of Foreign Missions.
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND SOCIAL SERVICE,
Mr. Eugenius H. Outerbridge,
President of the Chamber of Commerce.
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND EDUCATION,
The Rev. Dr. John Grier Hibben,
President of Princeton University.
The Rev. Dr. J. Ross Stevenson,
President of Princeton Seminary.
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH AND THE COMMON-
WEALTH,
The Hon, Charles S. Whitman,
Governor of the State of New York.
153
Then shall be sung the following Hymn :
God bless our native land;
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night;
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Do Thou our country save
By Thy great might.
For her our prayers shall rise
To God, above the skies ;
On Him we wait ;
Thou who art ever nigh,
Guarding with watchful eye.
To Thee aloud we cry,
God save the State. Amen.
After that shall he given a Greeting from the General
Assembly.
The Rev. Dr. John A. Marquis,
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the U. S. A.
Then shall he said by the Minister and the People the Apostles'
Creed :
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth:
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord ; who was con-
ceived by the Holy Ghost ; born of the Virgin Mary ; suffered
under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He
descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the
dead ; He ascended into heaven ; and sitteth on the right hand
of God the Father Almighty ; from thence he shall come to
judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the
Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of sins; the Resur-
rection of the body; and the Life everlasting. Amen.
Then shall be sung by the People the Old Hundredth
DOXOLOGY.
154
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
After that shall be sung by the Choir an "Alleluia"
according to an ancient musical form.
Then shall the Minister offer the following Prayer :
Our Heavenly Father we give Thee most hearty thanks for
those Thy servants whom Thou didst so long ago call to
found this Church. We thank Thee for that company of their
children who in unbroken succession have continued their
work until this hour. We thank Thee for the faith and
patience wherewith they wrought our splendid heritage, and
we humbly pray that we may be so baptised with the spirit
of our fathers, that the noble principles bequeathed to us by
them, may be by us transmitted to the generations follow-
ing,— all of which we ask in the name and for the sake of Jesus
Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
O Lord Our God, we beseech Thee not only for Thy favor
upon this Church and People, but also that Thou wilt bless
Thy whole Church, in this land, and throughout the world.
Gather Thy true people into the unity of the faith, and take
from them all bitterness and unkindness, all needless divisions
and misunderstandings. May grace, mercy and peace be mul-
tiplied unto all who love Our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
Pour out Thy Holy Spirit upon all men, and hasten the time
when every people shall be blessed with the knowledge of
Thee, and of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
After that shall the Minister pronounce the Benediction :
The peace of God which passeth all understanding keep
your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God
and of his Son,- Jesus Christ our Lord ; and the blessing of
God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be
amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.
155
Recessional —
Forward! be our watchword.
Steps and voices joined;
Seek the things before us,
Not a look behind ;
Burns the fiery pillar
At our army's head ;
Who shall dream of shrinking.
By Jehovah led?
Forward through the desert,
Through the toil and fight ;
Jordan flows before us,
Zion beams with light.
Forward, flock of Jesus
Salt of all the earth
Till each yearning purpose
Spring to glorious birth ;
Sick, they ask for healing
Blind, they grope for day ;
Pour upon the nations
Wisdom's loving ray.
Forward out of error,
Leave behind the night ;
Forward through the darkness.
Forward into light.
Glories upon glories
Hath our God prepared.
By the souls that love Him
One day to be shared ;
Eye hath not beheld them,
Ear hath never heard ;
Nor of these hath uttered
Thought or speech or word.
Forward, marching eastward
Where the heaven is bright.
Till the veil be lifted,
Till our faith be sight.
156
Far o'er yon horizon
Rise the City towers,
Where our God abideth;
That fair home is ours :
Flash the streets with jasper.
Shine the gates with gold ;
Flows the gladdening river,
Shedding joys untold.
Thither, onward thither.
In Jehovah's might;
Pilgrims to your country.
Forward into light!
PosTLUDE — Choral Song, Wesley
157
THE OLD COMMUNION SILVER
By Charles H. Olmstead, Clerk of Session
Very few persons in the Congregation are aware of the his-
toric interest attached to our Old Communion Service, as re-
vealed upon the flagons, cups, and plates themselves. Most of
us have seen them only when in use, under circumstances that
obviously forbade anything like a critical examination. It has
been thought desirable, therefore, to give a short account of
them that we may know how intimately they connect us with
the blessed company of the godly men and women who are
our spiritual ancestors in this beloved Church, and who have
long passed from the militant to the triumphant stage of Chris-
tian experience.
The Service (irrespective of the individual cups recently
adopted) consists of the following articles of massive silver:
Two large Flagons, two smaller Flagons, eight Cups, eight
Plates of ordinary size and two very large Plates.
There is good reason for believing that the plainer of the
two small Flagons, three Cups given by Anna Peartree and
three Plates given by Peter R. Livingston made up the first set.
The inscriptions upon the Cups read as follows :
"Ex Dong Anna Peartree,
In unsum Ecclesiae Christi Presbyterianae
APUD Ned Eboracenses."
And on one of the Cups is the date 1730. The Three Plates
simply bear the words upon the outer rim :
"Ex Dong Peter R. Livingston."
The Flagon has no mark upon it, and is perfectly plain, but
it is exactly of the same style of heavy, beaten silver as the
cups and plates described.
As all the rest of the silver (except three Plates and one
Cup of decidedly modern make) have later dates upon them, it
is not a violation of the probabilities to say that for one hun-
158
dred and eighty-five years we have been debtors to the gener-
osity of Anna Peartree and Peter R. Livingston.
In the early years of the last century it is evident that the
Service was beginning to be too small for the demands upon
it, for in 1812 a number of gifts of silver were made by vari-
ous members of the Congregation. It may be noted that the
inscriptions upon all of these were in English, "The Gift of" so
and so "to the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New
York, 1812," thus differentiating them from the earlier in-
scriptions, which were in Latin, and tending to give strength
to the assumption as to what pieces formed the first set. These
later gifts were as follows:
Two stately and beautiful Flagons, that are at the right and
left of the Table on every Communion occasion. These were
respectively the gifts of William Edgar and Daniel McCor-
mick.
Two Cups given by David Gelston.
One Plate given by Daniel McCormick.
One Plate given by Samuel Campbell.
There is no way of learning when or how the Church came
into possession of the unmarked articles.
In the same year, 1812, two very large Plates were given by
Robert Lenox and Brockholst Livingston, respectively. These
were probably intended for taking up the benevolent collec-
tions, which must have been very generous if we may judge
by the size of the receptacles provided for them.
In 1896 the spirit of giving for Communion purposes was
again awakened and two beautiful Cups were presented by the
Ladies' Missionary Society and by an honored and beloved
Elder, Mr. Thomas Greenleaf, respectively.
A description of the second smaller Flagon has been left
for the last. It is elaborately ornate, a very beautiful and
unique piece of silver. On the side opposite the handle a
coat of arms is engraved and above the date the words : "A
legacy of Mr. Jeremiah Owen to the Presbyterian Church in
New York, 1756." Upon the lid in repousse work is what is
believed to be a reproduction of some medal struck in 1634 in
honor and in memory of the great Gustavus Adolphus, "the
159
Protestant hero" as he was called in his day, the conqueror of
Tilly and Wallenstein in the Thirty Years' religious War of
that century. It will be remembered that he was killed in the
victorious battle of Lutzen, in 1632, and the medal shows him
in the form of Death, a skeleton riding triumphantly in his
chariot over a prostrate dragon. A figure stands on each side
of him, one an armed warrior, the other a female holding a
wreath over his head with the left hand, while with the right
she clasps a Bible surmounted by a burning lamp. Above is
the inscription, "Et vita et morte triumpho." The whole is
surmounted by this legend, in which it will be seen that there
is elision in several of the words :
"Dux Glorios Principus Heros Invict. Victor Incomparab
Triumph Felix et Ger, Liberator."
Enough has been said to establish in these sacred vessels a
strong link to bind us to the past history of the Church; we
are brought in touch with the pious emotions that prompted
the givers and led them to desire to associate their names with
every gathering of God's people around His Table.
160
THE MURAL TABLETS
Passing through the central portal of the Church fronting
upon Fifth Avenue, the visitor to the Old First Church is at
once attracted by the generous roominess of vestibule, its tiled
floor, its vaulted roof and its double row of triple arches,
through the central one of which stairways ascend to the gal-
leries. Upon the division wall, between the vestibule and the
main body of the Church to the right of the entrance, is one
of the few pre-revolutionary relics which New York still
possesses. It is a large Mural Tablet of black slate beauti-
fully inscribed with a Latin legend, of which the following is
a translation :
"Under the favor of God this edifice, sacred to the
perpetual celebration of the Divine worship, first
erected in 1719, was again thoroughly repaired and
built larger and more beautiful in 1748. The Pres-
byterians of New York founding it for their own and
their childrens use, in this Votive Tablet dedicate it
to the God who gave it. May it be yet more illus-
triously adorned by Religion, by Concord, by Love,
by Purity of Faith, of Worship and of Discipline.
May it, by the favor of Christ, endure throughout
many generations."
A corresponding tablet of white marble to the left of the
entrance door is blazoned with the names of the Church Offi-
cers at the time of the erection of the present building. Among
these groups of names, almost all of which are well known to
those familiar with the history of the city, are to be noted
those of John Broome (whose family name was given to
Broome Street), David L. Dodge (father of William E.
Dodge, Sr.), Daniel H. Wickman (so honorably associated with
the Mayoralty), Brockholst Livingston, J. Kearney Rodgers,
Milton St. John, Maltby Gelston, James Boyd and others —
a cluster of personalities whose character and influence are
not only the heirlooms of the "Old First," but who have en-
riched the entire community with the wealth of their example
and achievement.
161
Just inside the Church a beautiful screen of wood and glass
crosses the entire building behind the pews, spanning the aisles
with low arches. The graceful spring of the roof, with its
rare and effective groining; the noble and chancel-like pulpit
with its rich accompaniment of harmonious furnishings ; the
chairs for the clergy, the seats for the elders and the Com-
munion Table ; the fine Gothic design of the gallery front and
the lancet windows, at once claim attention and are full of
interest and charm. The walls are adorned with a series of
Memorial Tablets. Some of recent date commemorate con-
spicuous workers in the Church, such as Mr. Aaron Belknap
and Mr. Latimer Bailey. Within the pulpit recess a marble
has been placed in memory of Dr. William Wirt Phillips, who
served the Church during its longest pastorate. Nearby in
front of the left gallery stands a memorial to his wife. Just
beneath this gallery are two stones in honor of John Broome,
an early Lieutenant Governor of New York, and John Rod-
gers, an eminent Professor in Columbia College, both Elders
in the "Old First." Beneath the opposite gallery a richly
carved tablet is reared to the memory of that merchant prince,
Mr. Robert Lenox, who not only himself held office in the
Church, but his whole family have always been so conspicu-
ously identified with its life. Just inside the left entrance
door is a tablet of striking design to the memory of General
Alexander McDougall, of whom Washington said:' "He was
a brave soldier and a disinterested patriot." He was an Elder
of the Church, was one of the leaders of the "Sons of Liberty,"
served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and became
equally prominent in political and commercial affairs. His
name, as well as that of Lieutenant Governor Broome, has
been perpetuated in one of the city streets.
162
THE MEMORIAL WINDOWS
Stained glass is not a mere architectural ornament, but plays
an important and eloquent part in the ministry of the House
of God. A Gothic Church building is the embodiment in
stone of the primitive forest shrine, with its mysterious sense
of the brooding presence of exuberant and unfathomable life.
The clustering tree-trunks, with their over-arching branches
and interlacing boughs, are outlined in the stately columns, the
groined roof, the shadowy aisles, and the lancet-like windows.
The play of the light through the forest spaces, tempered by
the greenness of the leaf, figured and broidered by the ara-
besque traceries of vine and tendril, and sufifused with the
snowy whiteness of the cloud, aglow with the sapphire radi-
ance of the sky, or dyed with the rich hues of the flowers, took
enduring form, under the skilful touch of the artist, in the
translucent stains of the glass. The scenes of Scripture, the
lives of the martyrs and confessors, the heroic and thrilling
incidents of the Church's history, were blazoned as on an
illuminated missal ; and these wondrous transparencies of the
old cathedrals became known as Biblia Pauperum — the Bibles
of the Poor. Every eye could read their language. To every
heart they spoke their message.
After such a fashion, the Windows of this venerable Church
are like mystic scrolls, bearing a message to all who are seek-
ing to know the W^ill of God, and to do the Work of God.
Upon the North Wall stand a row of those chosen personalities,
who, during many ages, and in various forms of speech, but
under the dominance of one divine will, were privileged to voice
the Word of God to His children in this world. Along the
South Wall of the Church are ranged a group of those who,
through the centuries, having heard in their hearts the divine
call, wrought masterfully to realize the Will of God, by making
the world sweeter and humanity nobler. The Word of God
and the Work of God, for which this Church stands, are
builded visibly into, the Church's walls. As in the ancient pal-
ace, the stone cried out of the wall and the beam out of the tim-
ber, so long as this Church shall stand these Windows shall
163
sound the note of the Church's spirit and the Church's service.
In connection with the dedication of the Luther Window,
the following article was written by Mrs. Laura C. Dunlap,
the Editor in charge of the Church News Department of the
"Globe" (March 6, 1915) :
"An interesting history attaches to the ten memorial win-
dows which will soon fill all the openings in the beautiful
Gothic structure standing in its little park, where fullest value
is given to the richly tinted stained glass by the unobstructed
light on both sides. When the Rev. Dr. Howard Duffield
came to the Church twenty-four years ago he felt that the aus-
terity of the massive gray walls and the dark Gothic furni-
ture of the Church required the softening influence of rich
coloring. So he planned a series of Memorial Windows to be
placed on both sides of the auditorium, and one by one as the
years have passed they have been taken until after nearly a
quarter of a century the last one has been supplied.
"On the North side of the building the series symbolizes the
literary elements of the Holy Scriptures. First, 'Moses' rep-
resenting the law. This was placed by the Young People's
Society in memory of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, its founder
and first president. Next comes 'David' representing sacred
poetry. This window, which was erected some years ago by
Mrs. Hersey in memory of her father, J. D. T. Hersey, an
elder in the Church, is directly opposite the Luther Window to
be unveiled to-morrow. 'Isaiah,' the prophet, follows. This
Eugene Mcjimsey placed in memory of one of his ancestors,
Elder John Keese, who was also a Trustee of the Church. 'St.
John,' representing Gospels, was the gift of Thomas Green-
leaf, the father-in-law of Dr. Duffield, in memory of his
father, Joseph Greenleaf, for many years an Elder and Trus-
tee. An interesting fact noted in connection with the donor
of this Window is that Dr. Duffield's children are sixth in
line of the original Greenleaf members of this Church. Last
comes 'St. Paul' representing the doctrinal element of the
Scriptures. This was given in his memory by the family of
Professor Richard Harrison Bull, an Elder.
"On the South side of the Church the Windows are filled
164
with figures symbolizing the historic forces which enter into
the evangelical Church. These are, in order, the 'Walden-
sians,' represented by Peter Waldo; the 'Reformation' by
Martin Luther; the 'Huguenots' by Admiral Coligny; the
'Scotch Presbyterian Church' by St. Columba, and the 'English
Protestant Reformation' by the Puritan. This last Window
was put in by the Church Officers at the time when the parish
house was built some twenty years ago, and was the first to
be erected. It was designed by Maitland Armstrong, as were
the 'Moses' and 'St. Paul' Windows, and the figure was so
beautiful that it served as the model for the 'Puritan' in the
Century Dictionary. The Scotch Presbyterian Window with
its figure of St. Columba was presented by Mrs. Emily H.
Moir in memory of William Moir, an Aberdeen Scotchman,
who was the Treasurer and an Elder of the Church. This
Window was from the Tiffany Studios as was the 'Prophets'
Window. The 'St. John' Window was designed by Francis
Lathrop.
"The 'Old First' is in fact a fascinating Church. It will
soon be two hundred years old. It is the parent of the Scotch,
Brick, Rutgers and Fifth Avenue Churches. It has witnessed a
removal from Wall Street to its present site at Fifth Avenue
and Twelfth Street, and has been there seventy-five years re-
sisting all attractive ofifers to remove further uptown, and
enjoy the comforts which the sale of its magnificent site would
provide. Instead, the Church now uses its endowment to pro-
vide institutional classes and recreation for its changing con-
gregation and the neighborhood. It is just a year since
Tannenbaum and his army of anarchists invaded the Church,
prepared to dare the hostile treatment of a wealthy congrega-
tion, and instead were received with brotherly kindness and
every man provided with a supper and a bed.
"Such is the First Presbyterian Church. There is some-
thing doing every day in the week. It was one of the first to
utilize motion pictures. It was the first among Presbyterian
Churches to be open every day. It is not closed in summer and
its lawn services are quite the most delightful of downtown
summer gatherings. There is nothing old fogy about the 'Old
First.' It is in the forefront of all modern movements."
165
VOTIVA TABULA
AuspiCANTE Deo
Hanc Aedem
CuLTUi DiviNO Sacram
in perpetuum
Celebrando
A. D. MDCCXIX
Primo Fundatam,
Denio penitus Reparatam,
Et Ampliorem et Ornatiorem
A. D. MCCXLVIII
constructam,
Neo-Eborascenses Presbyteriani
In Suum et Suorum Usum
Condentes,
In hac Votiva Tabula
D. D. D.
♦ * * *
Concordia, Amore,
Necnon, Fidei, Cultus et Morum
Puritate
Suffueta, Claruisqe, Exornata
Annuente Christo
LONGUM PERDURET IN
Aevum.
THE VOTIVE TABLET
By THE Favor of God
This Holy House
For the Perpetual Celebr^vtion
OF Divine Vv^orship
FIRST erected IN
A. D. 1719
then thoroughly repaired
enlarged and adorned in
A. D. 1748
IS in this Votive Tablet
DEVOTED DONATED DEDICATED
BY ITS Founders
The Presbyterians of New York
for their own and their children's use
:(: ^ :f; ^ :{c
Sustained and More Splendidly Adorned
By the Harmony and Love
of their Faith, Worship and Way of Living
Under the Blessing of Christ
May it Endure for Ages
THE LOTUS PRESS
Wm. f. Andres, Pres.
NEW YORK
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